The Perfect Storm
by perFANfection
Summary: After a catastrophic event kills Jesse and leaves Beca widowed with two children and pregnant with one that has special needs, the Bella's find themselves reuniting again to help her. Will Beca learn to let her walls down and accept help from Chloe and the nearby Bella's when they decide to move back in together?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! If you have been following my story "Inevitably ours", thank you! But I feel like it is coming to a close and as I continue to write the last few chapters, I have decided that I wanted to get out my next idea. It is a bit similar to "Inevitably Ours" but it has the Bella's following more of "Full House" kind of theme (for those of you who have seen Full House and know what I'm talking about) Anyways, please enjoy this new story about the Bella family coming together to support each other once again, because I had no doubt in my mind while writing this that if this actually had happened that Chloe and the Bella's would want to help her. Please enjoy and feel free to leave some suggetions, reviews, or constructive critism. Or leave me a PM. Thank you! ~Elle**

* * *

 **Three Years Earlier...**

Beca Mitchell had always heard the saying "It takes a village" growing up whenever she and her brother were being a handful, but she hadn't registered or had any first hand experience in what it actually translated to until she had three of her own. She thought she was prepared, having the Bella's in her life proved that she had an excellent support system and an amazingly loving husband, Jesse.

She and Jesse had wanted to wait until their careers took off and life was more certain in the sense that they knew what they wanted and knew that they were stable. Of course life (and God) laughed right in their faces when the inevitable little family that Jesse had wanted came sooner than they had planned. But God had a plan. That's what Jesse would always remind her.

As Beca stared down at the two pink lines on the stick, she felt her heart palpitate in her chest and was certain she was going to vomit. Like full on, "Aubrey during ICCA finals" puke picnic, but she was sure that Jesse was going to be excited, and she was right. Well, after the initial shock, then he became optimistic.

After her first was born, Beca had sworn that she would go on birth control as soon as they'd let her. Not like the mini-pill, Beca knew that was virtually a joke. She wanted an IUD and prayed that they could hold off on any more children for at least three years. But yet again, as if she was the most fertile person in the village, she became pregnant nine months after her first, and boy was she furious.

Life had thrown a curveball at those two, but they still considered their children blessing despite not being planned. At least whatever was thrown at them they felt they could deal with, as long as they had each other (as corny as that sounded). However, one brisk winter afternoon, as Beca was driving home from the store, it happened.

She was listening as she heard eleven month old Rosie crying in her carrier, , as her brother Teddy, hummed along to the breakfast club soundtrack. Beca laughed as she remembered telling Jesse that they were not going to show the 'Breakfast Club' to their kids as long as they lived, and if they wanted to see it, they could find out about it themselves.

They compromised, Beca could name the kids as long as Jesse could give them "Breakfast Club" middle names, and show them the movie. And as charming as Jesse was she couldn't say no when she saw his eyes light up and his mouth lip the words everytime he watched it. And she adored the way he would recite it to the kids when they were babies. He still did and though she knew she wouldn't miss the movie if it disappeared in a house fire, she knew it never got old the way he adored their children.

Her phone began to rapidly buzz in the cup holder it sat in, the screen lighting up as a new number appeared on the screen. She was driving so all she could do is glance down and wonder who it was. She figured if it was important that they'd leave a message.

"All right kiddos, we're going to take a nap so mommy can clean before daddy gets home." She chirps, realizing how the old her would have never been this chipper.

 _"Boy, how kids have changed me. I guess I'm cliché house wife and mom, now."_ She thought to herself, cringing a little bit. as she chuckled.

 _"I should probably wash his clothes for him, or it will never get done. But I could also work on my track and if he runs out of clean clothes that could be his fault…"_ She mussed as she unbuckled Teddy from his seat, helping him out of the car before grabbing Rosie's carrier.

Beca hadn't even made it to the front door before she saw a car with lights pull up alongside the curb of their driveway, and a man got out of the car. Her heart raced faster, wondering if the phone call earlier had anything to do with the police man's presence.

"Ma'am." He greeted, the congenial tone in his voice mismatching his blase expression.

"I'm officer Patella. re you Mrs. Beca Swanson?"

"Y….yes…" Her voice wavered nervously, looking down to her two clueless children.

His face was now apologetic, and she could see that a calamitous event that pertained to her must have happened. She felt bombarded by emotions suddenly, and she tightened her grip on Rosie's carrier. She wasn't sure if it was nerves or if she was afraid she might actually drop the carrier on the concrete.

"I'm so very sorry, Mrs. Swanson."

He apologized to her again, this time his voice was empty and meaningless, as if it was an automatic response that he used every time he delivered bad news. She hadn't clearly heard a word he had said after he had started speaking, she was too busy feeling as if she had left her body and was now looking down on herself from a whole new perspective. She had lost all feeling and senses, the only thing she had left was the sound of her children, wondering their mother hadn't answered them.

"Mrs. Swanson? Can we escort you to the hospital, or call anyone for you?"

"Y..yeah. Chloe Beale. Please, call Chloe." She finally breathed, swallowing sharply. "Call Chloe, and tell her… tell her, that Jesse is dead." Her voice shook unsteadily.

She broke down in tears when she had finally said the words out loud and that's when everything, every feeling had left her body. She was shutting down and she swore she saw the curveball coming, this time at her chest, because all the wind was knocked out of her. She couldn't understand why these things happened but now not only was she a widow, but her children were fatherless. And she didn't have time to mourn on that fact because she had to stay strong for the rest of their little lives.


	2. We almost had it all

***Present Day***

"Evie, eat your food, don't play with it." Chloe chastens gently as the little girl giggles, oatmeal dressed in her hair.

Chloe signed "no more" to her and Evie only giggled, sassily shaking her head as she continued to paint with her food.

Evie was two and a half years old and the terribles twos had hit the Bella's home as they would any other family, and Evie was no exception. Her disability didn't limit her: The way Beca saw it, there was no way to tame the wild spirit that was Evie because her joy was contagious and her spirit determined.

But she needed her bounds just like any other two year old, because her extra chromosome didn't make her any different. They just had to learn what worked for her, learn her cues and what made her tick. Down Syndrome didn't make her any less susceptible to lesser discipline or favoritism. She just needed a little more attention and help than Beca's other two.

When they went out in public and Evie was misbehaving, people often felt pity and blamed it on her disability, but Beca knew that wasn't the case. This didn't define her and her actions didn't have to anything to do with it. She was like every other two year old, sassy, smart, curious, and she wished people would stop putting a label on it. If any other child had acted out the way Evie did, they'd call them "naughty" and tsk their tongues.

It irritated Beca that just because Evie looked a little different, people had their assumptions and brushed it off, pitying the little girl for "not being in control", or they'd turn red in embarrassment when their kids would watch her.. But Beca knew she was smart, and Evie knew how to turn on her little faces and attitudes in a snap of the finger.

Beca wished that when other parents kids had asked questions aloud in public that parents would teach their kids to treat others the same, despite their looks. That the kids and parents would come up to them and say "hello" instead of pushing them along quickly out of embarrassment, or looking away because they didn't know how to react.

She encouraged her kids to talk to the child or person with the disability and say "Hello", instead of asking the caretaker. She wanted them to see them as any other human instead of with labels. She wanted them to know it was okay to have questions but not ask them in a rude manner. She wanted them to see that they were all human.

"Rosie, can you put your coat on, please? The bus will be here soon." Beca instructively commands of her daughter as she comes down the stairs, stretching her arms behind her head.

Beca yawns as she shuffles into the kitchen in her flannel pajamas, grabbing the kids lunch boxes from the fridge and shoving them into their backpacks. Rosie was starting 4k and Teddy, kindergarten.

Beca had barely made it out of bed on time to wake them up for their first day after staying up all night with Evie, who had refused to go to bed in the storm of anxiety. She wondered how without caffeine, how would she survive, and how was Evie wide awake? She was thankful for the Bella's living there, otherwise her kids would never get an education.

"Mommy, can you help me tie my shoes, please?" Teddy asks, holding out his foot.

Beca pulls out the kitchen chair, setting his foot on her lap and she ties them, explaining every step and letting him attempt the other foot. Rosie comes in, dragging her jacket behind her and Beca throws her head back in irritation.

"I told you to put that on five minutes ago, Miss Rosie."

"It's itchy." She whines, and Beca furrows her brows, looking at her sternly.

"And it's also chilly outside today. So unless you want to become a human popsicle, I'd suggest you put it on." Beca jokingly reasons, chuckling lightheartedly while still being stern.

Chloe lifts Evie from her highchair, hoisting her on her hip and preparing for the ever dreaded bath time. Evie had a long list of things that would send her into sensory overload or things that would just set her off, and bath time was one of them. The girls would take turns on who would "go for a swim with Evie" that day, and since Beca had to go straight to work today, Chloe would.

The other Bellas all had jobs too. After all, they wouldn't have been able to afford this old, unused college sorority house without each and everyone of them had something to contribute. It takes a village, that was their motto, and Chloe was thankful that she worked extremely part time because she loved her days with Evie when she wasn't at daycare, and Chloe wasn't working.

The girls took turns on their days off and watched Evie and took care of things in the home. It was never a chore to them to who had Evie, they actually loved spending time with the little girl. Sometimes they would all plan a day off so they could spend time with her because she loved each and every one of them, just not all at once. She hated loud noises and the ambiance of the house was too much sometimes. But every now and then she loved all the attention, especially from her siblings.

Rosie and Teddy only went to half days at school for now, and Beca decided that particular day that she would finish up with her clients on discussing their music and hurry home so they could have a zoo day. The weather was cool in the morning but was supposed to warm up, and the zoo was especially calm during the fall. Evie hated all the crowds and overstimulation and Beca often carried her headphones in her purse to cancel the sounds.

Going out in public was an exciting event with the Bella's, one might say "the circus is in town", because seeing the large group was often strange to other people. There was a ratio of eleven adults to three children, and Beca believed if she didn't have kids, the group probably would still struggle to take care of a dog. They were dysfunctional, they had chaos, but at the end of the day things got done and they worked well together and Beca was thankful for that. They had a system, and it worked.

"Ready, Teddy?" Beca smirked at the corny rhyme, but she loved to see him smile.

She grabbed his hand and smiled down at him while assisting Rosie with her backpack with her other. They had once again managed to get the kids out the door on time to walk to the bus stop, and everything felt like it was going to be okay. These were the days she lived for.

 **-XXX-**

 _After reading Teddy and Rosie their bedtime stories, Chloe quietly closed the door until there was barely a stream of light coming through the crack. Chloe and Beca shared a room and so did the other Bella's so that the kids could have their own room. Chloe knew that Beca cried at night still, no matter how hard she tried to muffle her heavy sobs, but tonight was a particularly off night for Beca. She had lots of rough nights in the last month since Jesse had passed, but something was really different than normal._

 _Beca was a mother, she couldn't just stop being one when something bad happened. She felt like she had to stuff her feelings and through up a wall so that the kids wouldn't sense that there was something off. After all, kids were great at sensing something wrong, and she didn't want her children to feel uneasy or tense._

 _Beca was thankful that they were still too young to understand what happened. Teddy would still ask about Jesse, but the crisis was easily averted. Not that Beca didn't want them to feel like they couldn't talk, but he was only three after all. And Rosie was just a year old and a half. It saddened her that Rosie would never truly know her father and Teddy would probably forget too. And she cried about that too, in the last seven months._

 _"_ _Hey Sweetie," Chloe cooed as she slid out of her slippers and crawled under the covers next to Beca as she shook._

 _"_ _What can I do for you?" Chloe asked and Beca only dismissed her._

 _Chloe knew it would do no good to ask her how she was because she already knew the answer and didn't want her to feel worse, so she knew the best thing was to listen and ask what she could do to help, even if Beca didn't know. But she knew Beca found some comfort in knowing someone was there to listen, she certainly did at least and it was a gesture, a phrase so small but it meant a lot, and could be so helpful. If only Beca would open up, or at least let Chloe sit there beside her. She knew to give Beca space, but she wanted so desperately to help. So she accepted the days when Beca just wanted to be alone, and cherished the times she could be there alongside her._

 _Beca looked only like a small lump under the covers, a shaking anthill of a woman. She was small but mighty and her sobs filled the room and echoed down the hall, no matter how much she tried to drown into her pillow. Her cries of despair and sorrow came in waves, from just tearing up to letting the heavy tears blend into the shower water. Either way, Chloe was there to help pick up the pieces, and so were the others. They helped her put them back together._

 _"_ _Thank-you for putting them to bed, since their own mother is too crappy to get herself together to do it herself." Beca finally mused angrily between sobs, still underneath her covers._

 _"_ _Beca, this isn't your fault. And taking time for you doesn't make you a bad mother. He was their father and your husband. You need time to accept the fact that it isn't like that anymore and it's a big change!"_

 _Chloe reassuringly rubbed her back, running her fingers through the ends of Beca's ratty hair that she hadn't washed in days. She knew Beca struggled to do normal daily things and follow the routine that they used to. But Beca was stubborn and refused to take time for herself because she felt selfish doing so, and she had two young kids who needed her._

 _Beca knew was unfair to expect the Bella's to pick that up and take her responsibilities for her when she was their mother and they needed her more than other. Even if it took Beca an hour to wash a few dishes, she was gonna do it. She was determined to do these normal things because she wanted to learn to cope and adjust to life on her own. She graciously accepted help when she actually was too drained, but when it came to her kids, she wouldn't give up until she had run a marathon over burning bridges for them._

 _"_ _My duties as a mother don't stop just because something in my life did. It's my job to protect my children and teach them to process emotions, but how can I do that when I can't even do so without putting up walls?" Beca's lip quivered, eyes red._

 _It was true. Beca didn't properly express her emotions and it had taken the Bella's years to understand that when she was ready, the walls would come down, but first they needed to do some pushing to get Beca to let them help her take them down._

 _"_ _I don't know if I can be strong for all of us, but I have to be. Because it's not a choice for me to give up because with kids it's not just about you anymore. And it certainly isn't something I should expect you guys to jump in and take over. I appreciate your help, but I can't just hand it all over to you while I grieve."_

 _Beca's voice hold a certain angsty tone, looking and begging for Chloe to hear her out, to hear her plea. She loved that the wanted to help and she was more than willing to let them jump in and help her, but she didn't want them to take over. She was a mother, and her duties didn't stop just because her world felt like it had. She worried that she had burdened them, and things were only getting more complicated._

 _"_ _Beca, it's okay to take a step back and just breathe. It's okay to fall apart. Keeping it in will only make you feel like you're breaking. So whatever you need, whatever you're feeling, you can feel it all over my shoulders."_

 _"_ _Chloe, I don't have time." She gritted her teeth, feeling a wave of frustration wash over her._

 _"_ _Bec, there aren't specific times that you can grieve. Grief comes in waves." Chloe comforts her reassuringly. "It's okay to stop sometimes, and let yourself feel everything. Or it's okay to feel numb."_

 _"_ _Not when you're a mom. Because one day you'll be driving your kids somewhere and you'll just wanna stop because you're crying so hard you can barely see the road, and you're little boy asks why you're so sad and your heart breaks all over again because your kid has to watch you fall apart. Then, at that moment I don't get to because I've gotta be a parent. I gotta comfort my terrified kid!"_

 _"_ _Beca," Chloe coos softly._

 _Why couldn't Beca realize that she didn't have to be supermom and hold it together? It was healthy for kids to learn about emotions, Beca didn't have to be embarrassed about having them. And if the kids had questions it was better to answer than it was to shield them from thinking that their mom ever had them. She didn't want them to be insensitive._

 _There was a time and a place for it, and sometime Chloe thought that the kids should learn about sadness. Of course if it was bad, she should excuse herself, but if she starts tearing up, she shouldn't feel like she had to hide it, no matter how much she thought the looked up to her. However, Beca disagreed and their parenting opinions deferred, despite Chloe not being a parent._

 _"_ _You don't just get to stop being a mom and throw away everything. I just need time to breathe, and I can't do that when I've got meals to cook and places and a job to be at. I'm afraid to fall apart because I have responsibilities and if I start crying, I'm afraid I won't stop. I don't want you guys to ever feel like you have to do it all for us, and take care of us."_

 _"_ _I have a feeling there's much more than that." Chloe implies. "Why would you not just accept our help, Beca? We love you, and if we ever felt that it was trouble, we wouldn't have offered to move in. We're the Bella's Beca, it's for life!"_

 _"_ _I know Chloe; But I'm afraid you don't know what you're getting into. That you'll hit the ground running."_

 __ _"_ _Beca, this isn't a contract, we're not being forced into living here because we have to. You should never feel like a burden for needing help. I'm sure the girls and I are aware that this isn't college anymore. We are here to help with children, and nothing is going to be easy, we know that."_

 _"_ _Did you know that you'd be getting lots of sleepless nights and giving up a lot? Because it's worth it when you have kids, it is Chlo. But I kissed a lot of things goodbye that I did. Like when I didn't have to worry about the kids and finding a babysitter."_

 _"_ _But now you have ten babysitters, ten others that love your children like their own." Chloe smiles lightheartedly._

 _"_ _You don't get it. This isn't just fun and games, this will change your life."_

 _"_ _Change is good Beca, it's a part of life. And I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to or wasn't willing to accept that. Beca, I'd give up singing acapella for you and the kids, that's how much I love you guys."_

 _"_ _Would you still feel that way if I told you that as of this morning, you'd be taking care of three kids now? That now, you're in for more than you bargained for? Because, I'm... pregnant." Beca bitterly sniffs and Chloe's jaw drops._

 _Chloe studied Beca's countenance, waiting for her deadpan expression to turn into something that signified that she wasn't robotic. Anything that showed that she was a human just going through something. Chloe wanted Beca to let her comfort her, to lose her conspicuous glare and facade. She so badly wanted her to say something, anything, Chloe wanted to feel that she knew the right thing to say to Beca._

 _"_ _Oh Sweetie," was all Chloe could think of, her throat suddenly constricting on itself, but she wanted nothing more than to comfort her, despite how she herself felt at that moment._

 _"_ _This doesn't change anything. I want to be here for you Beca, I just need you to try and open up, even just a little. I want to help, why won't you let me?" Chloe demands to know, becoming a little more stern._

 _"_ _Because it's never been easy for me Chloe. I've always shut people out because I'm afraid to let people in. I'm afraid to get to close only for people to run away like my dad gave up on his marriage when things got tough."_

 _"_ _Beca, you are nothing like your father! Under that tough exterior, the real Beca is a softie who is selfless and stops at nothing to make her friends happy. Beca,you offered to give up your spot singing for Khaled, just to be with us. Does that sound like someone who isn't considerate of others? Does that sound like someone who doesn't deserve time to herself?"_

 _Beca's heart ached: She felt gratitude, anxiety calmed by the presence of Chloe in that very moment because Chloe had done nothing to show that she was ready to leave otherwise. She wanted to open up, and she was willing to try, but from aloof. It took a huge fight and some singing her freshman year for the group to open up and she slightly chuckled as she pondered whether or not Chloe was still corny enough to initiate them to do so._

 _"_ _We can start by doing your normal tasks, slowly and a little bit at a time. And when the kids go down for a nap, you take time for yourself. Paint your nails, cry, watch your favorite show. But don't feel like you can't take a break in between either, just to step a way for a moment. We've got the kiddos." Chloe lists, smiling as she watched Beca unsurely accept her advice._

 _"_ _I can't stress enough that if you need to cry or take a break in the middle of something, let us know, it's not a problem! We want to help you but you need to communicate with us and we'll jump in. It doesn't make you a bad mother by any means. The fact that you worry about the mistakes you make as a mother shows a lot about your character. It's gonna take awhile, but eventually it's gonna start to hurt less and less."_

 _Beca's anxiety increased tenfold and she couldn't hold it back anymore. She wanted to tell Chloe everything, she wanted to tell her about finding out she was pregnant and how much she missed Jesse and wished he would have been there to find out with her. She wanted to be open to accepting help and need help figuring out their next steps._

 _She wanted to tell her how they had discussed having a third child but she hadn't wanted it to happen like this. And Chloe would let her feel her feelings all over her shoulder, as long as it took, just listening to her because it was the only thing she knew how to do. She listened as Beca was like a tea kettle spilling over, whistling and bubbling over._

 _She listened to everything she had to say for the next three hours that night. When she finally took a breath to calm down, finally paused and stopped to see Chloe was still adamantly listening, she smiled a bit with gratitude and comfort. She knew deep down she wouldn't have wanted anyone else here with her to listen, that she found comfort in Chloe and Chloe was the only other person besides Jesse that could break her walls and Beca would feel totally comfortable._

 _In that moment, she felt comfort and temporary relief from the unknown because she felt like no matter what, they'd be okay. She was one heck of a lucky friend that the group of Bella's had no longer existed as an organization, but as a family. Her two older kids were in the room next door, and she had an entire family behind her._

 _"_ _So, what's next?" She finally spoke after a moment of grateful silence._

 _"_ _First things first, you need to make an OB appointment in the morning to confirm the pregnancy." Chloe demanded gently as she continued to hold and console Beca._

 _Beca hated that everything had to happen this way, but she was glad she had a village in her corner. Everywhere she turned there was someone there who showed they loved her, loved each other. As sappy as it sounded and as tough as Beca liked to be, she was a big softy on the inside and everyone knew it. But being soft didn't make her weak, it wasn't a definition of her. The Bella's would joke and tease her for her sassy facade, and knew only to push her out when if was in her best interest. She had been through so much and experienced so much adventure, all because she had a family that wanted what was best for her. The Bella's had helped Beca mature and grow emotionally, develop._

 _And as much as Beca hated to ask for help, she knew she needed to because they didn't have all the answers, but the girls would fight like crazy to help her figure it out. Beca hated to admit it, but she looked up to Chloe and the others, even though at one point she was the team leader. They relied on each other, that's how the foundation of their family, and any family should be._

 _"_ _I love you, awesome nerd." Beca leaned over, Chloe embracing her tighter and smiled as she realized that Beca hadn't called anyone that in a long time._

 _Beca's heart hurt as she processed these emotions, old and new. She was so happy that she could cry, she was anxious but felt comfort in Chloe's touch. Actions spoke louder than words for Beca, and she saw that Chloe really wanted inside her mind. Wanted to know what made her "tick" per say._

 _She wanted to know how to help Beca and comfort her in times. She wanted to know when to help and when it was time to back off, and Chloe had gotten pretty good at the cues, better than the rest at least. She knew when to push Beca, and when to let her figure things out on her own. Beca was determined mostly, but a little stubborn. Most of the time she wouldn't ask for help but when she did, Chloe and the others knew that she really truly needed it._

 _Her heart was full to bursting and she praised God in this moment for the family, not just blood, that she still had, even though she missed Jesse daily. But she knew Jesse was probably smiling in comfort knowing that God had left her in the good hands of the Bella's._

 _She couldn't explain how she felt anxious but also so happy and comfortable she could cry. It was kind of like performing a song for her: She felt anxious but the Bella's were right there alongside her, so she also didn't want it [the song] to end. But these crazy life adventures were only just beginning._


	3. Chapter 3

***Following the Accident***

Beca lay in the hospital bed beside him, listening to the rhythmic sound of the monitors filling the otherwise silent room. The door was closed and the curtains were screw shut so that no one could see in. Beca wanted as much privacy as she could get, no Bella's, no children, no doctors, just them. She held his favorite blue button up t-shirt balled in her fist that was resting upon his chest. She smelled his cologne, all though she didn't know if it was coming from the shirt or his body.

She saw the monitors, she heard his heartbeat, surely a sign of life. But everything was artificial, he hadn't actually been alive since the car had hit him head on. His neck was broken from the airbag, and his body had a large, seat belt shaped bruise cut deep into his skin.

He wasn't Jesse, his body was pale-ish blue, and he no longer breathed his song of life into her world. He was just this body, not the Jesse that she knew. The heart monitor was the only sign left that a part of him was still singing, though she knew once the machine was turned off, that too would fade until it silenced, just like the rest of him.

She couldn't believe how fast life had turned, how quickly they had whipped around a corner only to be driven here. They had two little kids at home, bouncing happily on his lap earlier that morning as he sang to them…

" _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…" He had cheerfully belted as Beca made her way out of the kitchen, two coffee cups still steaming in her hand._

Rosie had sat on the floor, grinning with her four front teeth up at her daddy as her eyes sparkled in amusement and excitement. Jesse brought a certain calming aura around their children, he was carefree and happy. He knew endings were the best part of movies, but he never wanted this, this family he had, to end. He looked forward to every new scene that life would bring, but he never wanted it to wrap. He wanted to look back on the "gag reel" and "Bloopers" of their lives.

When he had told Beca that every night when they had first gotten married, she would call out his craziness. He would stay up and talk through movies, trying to convince Beca that their part was just beginning, but they were missing a piece. Their plotline needed children and Beca rolled her eyes at the corny movie metaphors and such that he had. Beca had wanted to wait to see how their first year of marriage after graduating went, then discuss planning the first addition to their family. But of course, it didn't go to plan, a plot twist she hadn't seen coming: Teddy.

 _She had woken up one morning, rolling over on her sore breasts and groaning. She knew that her breasts became more sore around her period but her eyes quickly sprung open when she realized one thing was missing: Her period._

 _Her breasts had been sore for a while, and she thought it had been the week leading up to her period. But when she took a glance at her phone and saw the date was three days later than she was supposed to have it, she swallowed thickly as her chest tightened._

" _Jesse, I'm late…" She sat up and hit him with her pillow to wake him up._

 _He groggily sat up and surveyed the room with squinted eyes, disoriented from sleep as he tried to make sense of anything. He wasn't sure what she was talking about and tried to dismiss her, catching a glimpse of the clock and praying he had more time to sleep before dealing with whatever it was that she was going to shut him out for this time._

" _You don't work for another three hours." He rolled over, physically feeling pained from being up any early than five in the morning._

" _Not_ _that_ _kind of late, Jesse! My period!" She snapped, sliding out from under the covers and sliding on her slippers._

 _Jesse had felt like someone dumped a gallon of ice water on him because instantly he sprung up, watching as his wife frantically paced around the room, gathering her things to get dressed._

" _Becs, calm down. We're going to figure this out. Tell me again why this is a bad thing?"_

" _Pregnant, Jesse! This means I'm pregnant." She informs him as she slips out of her pajama top and into a clean top._

" _Possibly pregnant." He corrects and Beca shoots him an angry look._

 _Beca grabs her purse, ruffling through it to look for her keys and wallet, before yanking the covers off of Jesse. He doesn't protest but instead follows his wife out of the room in only his boxers._

" _Beca, don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit? A missed period doesn't always equate to pregnancy." He pleads, unintentionally being dismissive._

" _Well it's better to be safe than sorry! Besides, they come like clockwork for me, so if I am, I'd like to know. I'm already three days late." Her voice trails off, as she grows frustrated when she can't find her car keys._

" _Better late than never." Jesse ironically comments, and Beca rolls her eyes._

 _Jesse walks over to his wife, handing her the keys he had pulled off her night stand when he realizes she hadn't noticed yet. She snatched them from him, thanking him with her eyes before she starts to head out._

" _If I am, this is on you, Swanson." She shouts from down the hall, and Jesse lightheartedly laughs even though he knew he shouldn't._

" _I love you too!" He calls after her._

Beca only cried harder remembering how scared she had been that her life was changing, that she was being tossed into the unknown. But she also laughed at how she had thought being pregnant was the scariest thing. Of course it was scary and she had felt like it was the end of the world for a while because she was unsure how they were going to do it. But Jesse had done everything but prove himself incapable of being a father. If anything, he had done nothing but shown her that he was perfect for the role.

"It's okay Jess." She cooes, rubbing his cheeks with her hand and she wiped her tears with another.

"Remember what you said when we first met? That the ending is the best part? Go get, yours, and I'll rewatch for us. I'll rewatch and mouth the words to our movie for all of us. You just go get the ending you dreamed of." She softly smiled, never realizing how important the cheesy words actually were.

Beca was sobbing profusely, to the point where the nurse who had come to check on her had to bring her an oxygen mask. She felt as if she had left her body, and was floating over herself, watching her fall apart. Nothing felt real, she was spinning. The only thing left that was real was feeling his chest rise and even that was possible due to the machine breathing for him. The sound of her heartbeat reassured her that it was real and brought her down from her high, but she didn't want this to be.

"Mrs. Swanson, I'm so sorry…. But is it possible for you to sign the papers. We're ready to begin when you are." Beca hears them say but ignores them anyway, trying to focus on numbing the pain.

Beca didn't recall much after that, but Chloe had filled her in at her request. Beca thought she didn't want to remember, but it brought her comfort to picture the last moments that they had.

"GET OUT!" Beca had roared at them as they tried to rudely force the paperwork at her, clearly on a tight agenda.

Jesse's heart had long stopped and Chloe held Beca in her embrace, rocking their bodies back and forth as she tried to stop the brunette from going back into the room. They needed to use that room for another patient, there was no negotiating and as rude as they were, Chloe didn't want to argue. Instead, she threw Beca's arm around her shoulder, literally carrying her weight out into a private family room where an attorney would be waiting to discuss everything with them.

"Please, let me stay. Let me see be with him for a little longer!" Beca sobbed loudly, drawing attention to them.

"C'mon Beca; It's over. He's gone and this isn't going to bring him back!" Chloe attempted to guide Beca out of the room as the nurse protested her pleas to stay.

Chloe comforts Beca as Beca tries to jerk an angry elbow at the door as a nurse was attempting to close the door behind them. She understood that Beca was upset but she couldn't imagine truly what she felt. She was startled by how belligerent the brunette was being, but deep down could understand that there was no way she could process her emotions in a few hours. She was understandable upset, but violence wasn't the answer. The only thing keeping her from losing her mind now was her children.

Beca was led to a room where Rosie and Teddy were being watched over by random child service workers. Beca feared that she would lose them too when she noticed the horrified face of the worker and her children waiting in the room, Teddy staring wide eyed at his mother, and Rosie crying in her carrier. It was a day she knew she wouldn't forget, but the looks would forever haunt her. And she could never forgive herself for doing so.

* **Present Day***

"Good Morning, Rosie Posie!" Aubrey sang as the little girl toddled down the staircase, her blanket dragging behind her.

Beca had left with Evie and Fat Amy for one of Evie's heart appointments. Evie had been born with a small hole in her heart that had since closed, but they had annual check-ups to be safe, checking for any changes or red flags. Evie was routinely on meds, which was a battle in itself to get her to take them.

"Aunt 'Brey!" Rosie ran over, jumping into Aubrey's lap, and gleaming up at her.

Chloe was at the lecture hall on Barden's Campus, volunteering that weekend for a children's camp that the new Bella's were running. It was something she looked forward to when it came around that time of year, and if it wasn't for that group, the Bella's feared that she would lose her mind not being able to sing. It had been forever since the girls had sung together, not including the times they had sung the kiddos to sleep.

Aubrey grabs Rosie's hand, leading her into the kitchen and to the breakfast table where her brother was eating pancakes, engrossed into a conversation with Cynthia-Rose about the planes she flew for her job.

Cynthia-Rose had just finally passed her flight exam and was entering into an actual, full time job. Teddy was in a stage where he was fascinated with planes, and Cynthia-Rose smiled everytime he asked because the little boy beamed whenever she talked about planes.

"What do we say we all eat some pancakes, then we can all go to the park for a picnic?" Aubrey asks as she helps Rosie into her chair, watching as the little girl props up on her knees so that she could reach the table.

"Yes! Sounds good!" Rosie beams back, squealing happily as she began to shovel the fresh pancakes into her mouth.

Aubrey sets a paper towel down beside Rosie, praying that she uses it as she squeamed at little. She loved the little girl, but she did not enjoy the site of chewed up pancake coming out of her mouth as she spoke.

"Slow down, Punchkin!" Emily giggles as she looks to Rosie from the stove, mid-flip with her spatula on the pancake pan.

Beca was due home soon, and Aubrey wanted to get them dressed and bags packed before then. It was a task in itself to get the kids to the park, and she figured that Beca probably wouldn't want to go anyways. Evie would probably be in a mood afterwards and would fight napping, making for a long afternoon for them. She never came back from her appointments anything less than exhausted, but Beca loved every minute of motherhood, even the tough times.

"Teddy, pick out something you don't mind getting dirty." Aubrey commanded as he brought his plate to the sink and intended to head upstairs to get dressed.

If Beca felt she had done one thing right, it was teaching her kids to have manners and respect. Of course they were still kids and weren't perfect, but she thanked God that her children hadn't inherited her stubbornness, but their father's sunny disposition and eagerness to learn. Beca was a terribly naughty child, and she silently apologized to her parents everyday in her head. Rosie was a sassy, spunky little kid, but was nowhere near as bad as Beca was.

Evie was her trouble child, and it wasn't like she didn't know what she was doing. Evie would intentionally smirk at her mother before she did something she knew she wasn't supposed to in order to read Beca to see if it was a "no-no". She was mischievous, sneaky, and quick on her feet. She was spirited and smart and bubbly, and she wished the world wouldn't place limitations on her. She was smart and had so much potentially but when she was naughty in public, others were dismissive.

Evie had been lying on the grocery aisle floor, angry that Beca had caught her red-handed, trying to open a box of fruit snacks that had the same picture on it that the ones she had at home had. She loved that brand and Beca had to put them high up because Evie had recently learned how to move chairs so that she could climb on things.

"Evelyn Grace!" Beca had chastened.

She was secretly thankful that Jesse hadn't been there to name Evelyn, (as morbid as that sounded) because Evie was the child that was scolded the most with her full name. She used to be embarrassed when she chastened Teddy in public because who on earth named their child "Theodore Bender"? So she would just simply call him "Theodore Swanson" to avoid the strange looks she got from strangers, apart from the fact that her kid was throwing a fit in public, already attracting attention.

By the time Evie was old enough, Beca had gotten used to all the stares. But this time it felt different because when Evie was naughty they were more dismissive, and it kind of bothered her. She was used to the pity stares and the dealing with already dirty stares when Evie would throw a fit, but as soon as they realized that she had down-syndrome, their dirty stares turned to averting their eyes, or anxiously pulling their curious, question stricken child along as they asked about Evie.

" _Don't Stare!"_ Mothers would hiss but Beca had learned to dismiss them back.

But her favorite: " _Poor thing!"_ or " _She can't help it"._ And it really rubbed her the wrong way.

She would hear them say it and she wanted so badly to whip around and throw their assumptions right back in their faces. But instead she sheepishly smiled, trying to pull Evie from the floor so that she could calm her down. Evie was smart, and they hated that they assumed just because she had a disability, that she didn't know what she was doing or couldn't be held accountable.

She was only two after all, and while she didn't have all the proper developments that most had at that age, it didn't limit her. She wasn't limited to because of Down-syndrome. She was extremely smart and sharp for her age, and though she wasn't one of many words, she showed it other ways. She wished people would stop assuming that every person with down-syndrome was the same and that because they had a friend with it, or met someone with it, that Evie would be the same way.

"Evelyn Grace!" Beca would pull her up, holding Evie's arms to her side and hugging her from behind to help calm her.

This was her life, and Beca wouldn't have it any other way because at the end of the day, her kids were loved and happy and safe. They were fed and bathed and they always made sure someone was there to tuck them in. They had ten others that loved them besides their mother.

They were taught manners and respect but still were kids and were learning. Beca wouldn't let anyone make her feel any other way, even though it took her awhile to be confident in her own abilities. No one would talk down to her or her children, especially Evie. They were human beings and demanded the same respect that everyone should be treated with.

"All right Rosie, why don't we go upstairs and get dressed so we're ready to leave when mama gets home?" Aubrey finally announces, helping her back down from the chair.

Rosie nearly tossed her entire clothing supply from her dresser on the floor before settling on her bubble vest and leggings. She was definitely Beca's child, loving comfort clothes year round even though it was early September and the weather was still warm. But she was only a little girl and Aubrey let her choose her clothes on her own before offering a little guidance.

"What about your overalls? And your favorite shoes?" Aubrey offers.

Rosie had a cute, light-aqua blue-green top with white stripes, and the sleeves were frilly at the end. The extra fabric sewn on as ruffles at the sleeves was the part Rosie loved the most because they reminded her of Mermaid tails, though Aubrey couldn't quite see it. She finished the outfit off with overalls and helped Rosie slip her converse on over her favorite princess socks.

"Should we do your hair?" Aubrey asks and Rosie nods, sitting on Aubrey's lap on the floor.

"Pigtails!" Rosie exclaims as Aubrey brushes through her hair.

Teddy shuffles in, wearing just a blue button up t-shirt, and his khakis. He was overdressed for the park and Aubrey would have a heart attack if she had to spend another three hours scrubbing, washing and re-washing his shorts to get a simply grass stain out.

"Are you sure you want to get that dirty?" Aubrey implies, offering the chance to change his mind and he shakes his head.

"Alright buddy, put your shoes on then and I'll help you tie them." She drops in the subject in defeat, picking her battles.

It took an hour before they were finally ready and packed up to walk to the park. Rosie insisted on dragging her little red wagon behind her, loaded with her baby doll and its stroller, her baby dolls diaper bag, and Evie's baby onesies that she put on her doll.

"Is your baby ready, mama Rose?" Aubrey smiles, playing along.

"Her name's Molly." Rosie interjects and Aubrey smiles apologetically.

Rosie would immediately gravitate towards the swings, insisting that one of the girls pushed her from behind while Teddy claimed the monkey bars, proudly swinging across two bars before falling to the ground.

"Push me!" Rosie squealed to Stacie, knowing that Stacie always swung her the highest.

Aubrey was overprotective and a control freak, and would never allow Rosie to go that high. Rosie demanded that she touch the sky with her toes, and only Aunt Stacie could get her there. No one else was allowed to push her. Aubrey would be benched when they were at the park, usually just playing with Evie in the sand or on the slide because at least Aubrey could hold Evie's hand and control how fast she slid down the slide, or kept her from putting the sand in her mouth.

"Stacie, watch! I flying!" Rosie exclaims and Stacie laughs.

"You are, baby girl!" She cheers her on, but what happened next would change how laid back they would be forever.

"Fly, Rosie, Fly!" She cries out excitedly.

Then time changed to slow motion as Rosie loosened her grip from the metal chains and outstretched her arms, thrusting her body from the seat as it flew forward. Stacie felt herself panic and a mode in her brain turned on where she flew into action. She wanted to soften the blow if she couldn't catch her, but it was too late.

Rosie had landed on the woodchips, her little arm cushioning the blow from under her body, and catching the heat of the fall. They could swear everything went silent as they heard the snap of her tiny bones breaking into two, a brief silence before the entire park was filled with screams of bloody murder. The girls rushed to her side, their hearts breaking as they saw the pain painted on the little girls face, and her blue eyes looked grey with betrayal.

"Mama!" She wailed as Stacie carefully picked her up, cradling her in her arms.

Stacie rocked the little girl back and forth, stroking her matted hair back from her face and planting a kiss on her head. She tried to soothingly sing to Rosie as they carried her back to the wagon and moved her things in order to lay her inside. They had no idea what Beca was going to say but this was just icing on the cake to what ended up being the longest day of their lives.


	4. Happiest time of the Year?

_B_ eca had decided that she and Jesse hadn't wanted to know the gender when she was pregnant with Teddy since it was her first (and she didn't know if it could or would be her last), but that didn't stop the Bella's from putting in their two sense, suggesting that she name the baby "Bella" if it was a girl, and Beca hated that. It was so corny, it was cliche, but she would be lying if deep down she hadn't thought of it for a second, even as a middle name.

Once past the initial shock of being pregnant, and the scary first appointment where they had shoved a tiny probe up her just to see the flicker of the heartbeat, being reassured that the baby was healthy, she had expected it to be smooth sailing, as soon as that ailing feeling in her stomach everyday eased up a bit. Morning sickness wasn't getting in the way of her normal routine, but it definitely was a distraction, a little different than she was used to.

She knew she couldn't hide it forever, the Bella's could sense anything off with Beca from a mile away. It was like everytime she was going through something, a giant flashing sign appeared on her head that screamed "I'm going through something; Don't bother to ask!". But if she did have a sign, she knew the girls would ignore it, because they always wanted to help each other out, even if it was annoying, because Beca knew it came from a good place in their hearts.

She was having a particularly hard rehearsals that day, unable to focus on anything else but stopping the dizzy feeling and the angry ailing feeling in her stomach. She was sure the girls had noticed that something was off, she wasn't usually this distracted, but every few minutes she would take off her headphones and squeeze her eyes closed, taking a deep breath to help ease the whirlwind of nausea.

"Beca, are you feeling alright?" Chloe presses her cold backhand to Beca's forehead, detecting a mild temp.

"I'm just nauseous. But I promise, I'm not gonna get behind. It's just an off day." She feigns a smile, knowing Chloe didn't believe a word she said.

Beca was stubborn already as it was, and she'd be darned if Beca wouldn't let them take care of her when she was sick either. Beca was a terrible liar when it came to claiming everything was alright, that they could literally hear the little construction men in her brain putting up brick walls. Being emotionally closed off and having your walls down was just the same as not letting someone help you when you were sick in Chloe's eyes. She believed that no matter what kind of sickness it was, someone should always be there to stand beside you.

"Alright, well I'm gonna call practice for the day then because you look like you're ready to "Aubrey at 2012 ICCA's" puke. We'll get you back home and I'll whip you up homemade soup."

That was another thing about Chloe's big heart. She was constantly making family meals for all the girls, not just on holidays but on occasions where they needed a break from all the practices to spend time together, enjoying a home cooked meal which she herself missed.

They used to be so busy most of the time trying to graduate and also rehearse for worlds that they didn't have time to just chill. And now with the USO's coming up, they tried to make all the time they could together between jobs and their lives outside of Barden.

Little did Beca know that Chloe's cooking was amazing until they started that tradition, and it would follow for years to come and come in handy. One morning when Teddy was a few weeks old, Beca had caught something herself and Jesse agreed to take care of the baby while she got well. Chloe invited herself over to help nurse Beca to health without Beca or Jesse noticing that she had let herself in that morning while they were asleep, until they woke up to the smell of pancakes and sausage for Chloe and Jesse, and toast for Beca's unsettled stomach.

"Chlo, no offense, but I don't want your soup. It just doesn't sound appealing to me right now." Beca protests and her heart breaks when she sees Chloe's blue eyes sulk.

"Okay, I'm gonna tell you something I've been dying to tell you about but have been waiting for. It's still kind of early but I want you to be a part of this."

Beca remembered when she asked Chloe to be her maid of honor alongside Aubrey, Fat Amy, and Stacie as her bridemaids. Beca wanted a smaller wedding with the Bella's and some immediate family, but she knew it would mean the world to Chloe and the girls if they could participate one way or another. Chloe's excitement was something she wished she had gotten a picture of because there was no way to describe in words the smile that was painted across her face. Her over excitement for things would never grow old.

Chloe's eye grow with anticipation, begging Beca to tell her what the news was. She had an inkling but didn't want to be disappointed when it wasn't so. She also knew Beca was extremely careful about it and hadn't wanted to have children for years down the line. But God had laughed and the condom had broken and here she was. She took time to get excited at first.

But she knew there were women out there who had trouble getting pregnant so she was gracious for her fertility, even if it had come at an inconvenient time. Aca-children were inevitable after all, and thinking that they could have their children and people like her cousin, who wanted a baby after ten years, whipped Beca into a guilty, better, more appreciative mindset.

"Chloe, I'm pregnant!"

Beca smiled, feeling her heart burst as Chloe dropped her dance notes and lunged enthusiastically into Beca's embrace. Chloe was one to always get overexcited and cheer everyone up, but in this instant, Beca was okay with it, it was even what she happened to need at that time. If she was gonna tell anyone the news and need cheering up, it was gonna be Chloe.

"Oh my gosh, this. is. CRAZY!" Chloe laughs, squealing the word "crazy" with emphasis.

"I knew this day would come! At first I had my doubts, but I knew my little Beca Mitchell would come around because under that faux toughness act, was a big, squishy heart! You don't fool any of us Beca, you just like to play along with the faux, tough attitude and you know it!" Chloe was hysterical, and Beca couldn't stop laughing.

Beca wondered what Chloe would have done if she had decided not to have children. Chloe always told her it was a valid choice, that it would be unfair to bring a child into the world if it wasn't necessarily wanted, or if she and Jesse had been busy and the child grew up in the hands of a random stranger, a nanny.

Chloe would support her anyway, and even if this child wasn't planned, he or she was surely wanted and loved, and had a whole village behind them. Everything was going to be fine, Beca was reassured of that.

"Shhh... " Beca pressed her finger to her lips before gesturing with her hands for Chloe to keep it down. "I wanted you to be the first to know, because Lord knows I'm gonna need help telling the others."

Beca knew there would be a group hug, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was excited to celebrate with the others. The only thing that scared her was Aubrey, because they had been rehearsing for the USO tour for months, and they'd either have to find a replacement, or find a way to make it work, which would not be easy. She would be have a three month old by the time they left next August, and it would be difficult as as new parent, but she would try to make it work so that they could go.

"Okay, so if it's a girl, I'm thinking Bella…" She hears Chloe muse excitedly, not really talking to anyone in particular.

Beca knew the girls would suggest that too but one, there was no guarantee it was a girl, and two, it was too corny for Beca. She secretly did like the name but her cheeks grew red when she thought of explaining it to people who didn't understand. She hated attention to herself, and didn't want to have to strike up a conversation about it, no matter how much she was proud to be a part of the Bella family.

"Let me stop you right there," Beca interjects as she smirks, watching the disappointed looked on Chloe face start to form. "I'm not naming my daughter Bella."

"You're such a spoilsport." Chloe teased.

"I'm a realist; It could be a boy." Beca retorts before Chloe pulls her into one more big hug.

"I am so, so very happy for you, Beca. I love you, my little Aca-nerd." She dotes and Beca blushes.

Beca smiles, thankful she can share this moment with her favorite (not that she'd ever tell the other girls because they would be jealous, and it would just be plain mean to say. Besides, they'd never let her live it down that she did care about them. She was closest with Chloe). She was excited for what the future held, and didn't want to find out the gender, but loved the idea of the Bella's all finding out together in the waiting room because Jesse had turned her into a sucker for the cheesy, little things.

Beca remembers what she wanted to ask Chloe from the moment she found out. She had been dying to tell her and was barely eight weeks pregnant. She was afraid of the miscarriage chance but realized that she would want the support if she did. Chloe was there through everything and Beca would return the favor in a heartbeat.

"One more thing, and it's okay if you're uncomfortable, but we already shared a shower so…" Beca begins and Chloe's eyes grow in anticipation, laughing lightheartedly at the memory.

"Will you be in the delivery room with Jesse and I? Or maybe I'll have a water birth, I'm really not sure yet but I have nine months to think about that. That is beside the point, the point is that no matter how I do it, I know for certain that I want you there to watch your godchild come into the world."

Chloe's jaw dropped in shock before jumping back into Beca's arms and hugging her tightly. There was no doubt in Chloe's mind that she would ever miss the birth of another Bella's baby if she could. She and Beca were especially the closest, but Chloe considered herself (and the others had called her) their group "mom". She was sometimes naggy, usually overbearing and overly attached, but they loved it and adored her sweet personality. Without Chloe and her good intentions there to watch over them, there would be chaos.

"Yes! A thousand times, to the aca-heavens and back, yes!" Chloe squeals and Beca sighs in relief.

Chloe pauses before reflecting on something else Beca had said.

"God-child? I'm gonna be a godparent?"

"There would be no one else more perfect for the job. You're my person, Chloe." Beca smiles before blushing in a bit of embarrassment.

"This is way better than the day we got handed the pitch pipe!" Chloe exclaims and Beca laughs at her cuteness.

It was a day she'd never want to forget, not that she could ever erase the picture of Chloe's excited, enthusiastic grin from her memory. It was the day everything started, and who knew that Teddy was the beginning to a great friendship, and hardship that was to come?

* * *

"What the heck happened to my child?!" Beca stormed into the ER, ignoring a nurse as she asked Beca who she was looking for.

Stacie and Aubrey could be clearly seen in a bed at the corner of the ER, trying to distract a distraught Rosie by playing "I-spy" with things she could see out the window. Stacie sat on the bed behind her, holding Rosie in her lap as they played, Rosie looking with adoration at the brunette, and back at Aubrey because even the little girl could sense her need to always be in control.

Teddy had been taken home by Emily, and thankfully Beca had been at the clinic down the road for Evie's appointment. Fat Amy was able to take the little girl home after dropping Beca off. Beca would hitch a ride with Aubrey and Stacie back, figuring that her little girl would want her to be there anyways. She was probably tired and scared out of her mind. After the adrenaline wore off and the pain meds kicked in, Rosie would be a crabby mess.

"Aunt Brey, look! It's momma!" Rosie's red rimmed eyes lit up and her chubby cheeks turned into a smile.

"Hey baby." Beca kisses her on the head before scooping her up and letting Stacie stand beside Aubrey. "What happened?" Beca fussed, and Rosie lit up in anticipation to tell her mother everything that happend.

"Aunt Stace push me really high and I said 'fly Rosie!' and I jump from the swing. But I land on my arm."

"They gave her a small dose of pain meds so she's tired, but I'd like to document that I did not know she'd jump." Stacie interjects inappropriately and Aubrey slaps her arm.

"But I'm really sorry Beca."

Beca shakes her head, sensing that Rosie had a taste for adventure and a fearless attitude like herself. It scared her to death that Rosie was just like her because she feared she would also develop her attitude as a teenager one day. She knew that Rosie was still young, but she wasn't gonna pass this opportunity to teach her a life lesson, rather than coddle her. The kid needed a sense of fear, or she'd try to fly from the roof next, Beca feared.

"I'll bet you won't do that again, will you Rosie, will you?" She asks and Rosie shakes her head.

"No momma. My arm hurt!" She agrees, wincing as she poked her arm.

"You know Rosie, I'm glad you're okay. But it's safe to say that you can't fly, huh?"

"No momma." She repeats again.

"Well baby, I hope next time you think about what could happen if you do that. You wouldn't touch a hot campfire because you know it's hot, right?" Beca asks and Rosie nods. "Just because you can't always see the bad thing, doesn't mean it's not there. It's called consequence, do you know what that is, Rose?"

Aubrey rolls her eyes in humor, unable to comprehend the Beca Mitchell that had come to know, and grow through becoming a parent. Never in a million years would she imagine that "Earspike" would grow into this fiercely independent, loving, softy of a mother.

She was an excellent mother, a great teacher for her kids, and they could see that it was all because she wanted her kids to grow up polite, able to stand up for themselves, and most of all, not like her. Not that she was a ba person, she just prayed that her kids weren't as sassy or closed off as she was.

"It's when you disobey, which means you don't listen to mommy when she tells you not to do something. And a consequence is when something bad or dangerous happens because of it." Beca watches as Rosie becomes engrossed in what she was saying.

"Like, if I told you not to touch the stove after I made something because it was hot. And if you touched it, you would get burned, right? Even after I told you it was?" Beca asked as an example, praying that she was speaking in terms that Rosie understood.

"Or Teddy let Billie out after you tell him no?" Rosie asks for reassurance and Beca nodded.

Billie was Chloe's dog, but the dog now lived with Chloe's parents because having a dog and children would be tough, especially since the dog was yappy, and Beca hated small dogs, no matter how cute she thought the dog was. The dog would often run out of the yard if she wasn't on a leash, and the one time Teddy asked to play outside with her, Beca had protested, knowing the dog could easily dig a hole and crawl under the backyard fence, and she was right.

"She ran away, didn't she?" Beca confirms and Rosie nods in understanding.

"It dark and scary and we look for her but did not find." Rosie added and Beca smiled, relieved that Rosie was somewhat understanding.

Rosie was only four, and it was a big concept to explain, but it wasn't entirely hard for her to understand. Cause and effect, and Beca could clearly communicate to her with examples. If she didn't listen, bad things could happen. Of course Rosie's little smart head wouldn't fully grasp it, but she had to learn and grow through experience. The little girl had so much ahead of her and Beca couldn't possibly expect her to be perfect. The only way Beca would grow as a mom and her kids would learn was if they made mistakes.

"Can you promise me you won't jump from the swings again?" Beca asked as more of a demand.

"Yes Mama." Rosie's little voice repeated obediently, snuggling into her mother.

Just then a dark-haired, handsome, olive skinned doctor finally walked in, Rosie's chart in hand and a big smile on his face. A nurse was beside him, a grumpy and annoyed look on her face as she surveyed the room. The doctor shook Beca's hand and the nurse distanced herself into the corner.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Sparks." He addresses Beca before turning to Rosie.

"And you must be Ms. Rosie!" The doctor smiles, shaking her little free hand. "I'm Dr. Sparks, and I'm gonna fix that hand of yours."

"Can we ask that just the patient and her mother be here?" The nurse finally announces and Aubrey and Stacie leave.

Dr. Sparks sat down on a stool that he had pulled up, musing aloud as he checked it out. He would occasionally turn to the nurse, asking that she took notes into the chart and at one point asked for an X-ray.

"What happened, Rosie?" Dr. Sparks finally asked her and her eyes lit up, loving the attention.

"My arm hurt. I jump from swing at park." She informs him as he picks it up to exam again. "Ow!" Rosie cried and Dr. Sparks apologized.

"Well, Nurse Shelley is gonna take you for pictures of your arm so we can see the inside. How does that sound Rosie? Should we go see if it's broken, and if you lay really still, we'll get you some stickers?" He smiles, and Rosie nods.

Beca wasn't allowed to go with her and it saddened her heart to see Rosie independently leave without her. Just a few months ago, Rosie would have thrown a fit to see her mother go without her, but now she was excited and looked so grown up leaving with the nurse. She held the doctors hand, staring up at him as he talked to her on the way over. Beca felt like she was going to cry but shook it off, glancing at her phone to check the time and sees a text from Chloe.

 **Chloe: How's Miss Rosie? We just got Evie down for her nap, finally. She broke the lamp tho.**

Beca groans, knowing that she was going to worry about glass shards in the carpet for months and resented herself for not child-proofing it after Teddy had been born. Jesse had ugly, metal based lamps in the attic, ones that were passed down after his grandma had died, but she refused to put those in her living room because they were dusty and creeped her out.

 **Beca: I'm sorry Chlo. She didn't sleep well last night. Rosie is o.k, luckily it was her right arm. See you soon!**

When Rosie finally came back, her face was covered in a million princess stickers and her arm was set in a cast. It had surprised Beca because when she had broken her arm as a kid, then gave her a lousy temporary cast for a few, long painful days. She was thankful Rosie didn't have to encounter that. She was also thankful that it had been Rosie's right arm, because little Rosie was left handed, just like her mom. Having a broken arm was hard enough, but learning to use a new one, especially when she had just started writing in preschool, would be impossible. Also, Beca secretly feared she would start to want to use her right hand after awhile, and she hated the idea of losing her 'mini-me'.

"Momma, look! He give me pretty purple cast!" She exclaims, running over eagerly to hug her mom.

"That's your favorite! How did he know?" Beca asks her, looking at the doctor and thanking him with her appreciative smile.

"I telled him I like it.. He says I brave!" She proudly boasts, informing her mom.

"It looks great on you, Rose! Now, what do you say to Dr. Spark?" Beca asks, waiting for her daughter's response.

"Thank-you, Dr. Spark." She replies, beaming up at him.

On the way out, Rosie tried to tell everyone about how she had gotten her cast, some rude people feigning a fake smile and others congratulating her. Beca pulled her along, apologizing to the people who were in serious pain as she took Rosie to the car. She luckily had a car seat in Aubrey's car, and they had a long drive home, Rosie eventually falling asleep in the middle of her story. Later that night, after she had repeated the story for the eight-hundredth time to each Bella, she gave into the sleep she had been fighting.

When they had first gotten home, Rosie had refused her dinner, the pain meds making her drowsy and she was also in pain as they began to wear off. Beca knew she was really out of it when Rosie had refused a bedtime story with her siblings, laying on the floor. Beca heard her muffled cries as she lay face down into the carpet and offered to take her to bed but she only protested.

"Not tired!" She screamed and Beca sighed, ignoring her fit as she walked away to tend to her other two children.

"I've got this, Beca." Chloe reassures her, scooping Rosie into her lap and rocking with her angry body to help calm her.

When Beca came back from tucking in Teddy and reading him a story and Evie was building blocks with Emily, she found that Rosie had fallen asleep. Beca scooped up the little light brown haired girl from Chloe's lap. Chloe was now sleeping too and she was careful not to wake them both. Beca carried Rosie her to her room as her the ringlets on her curly head bounced with every step up the stairs she took, listening as the sound from movie the girls were watching faded.

It was still sentimental that years before, Beca and the girls had lived in this sorority house (which Barden had put up for a public sale since it had technically belonged to the city and someone actually had the guts to complain before they decided to give it up). After Jesse passed, Beca knew she would need all the help she could get, but couldn't anticipate that all the the girls would come to help and they'd end up in a new-old house together. She would never had guessed that Chloe would do research, digging into the market and finding that their old home was for sale by owner.

Beca never imagined that they'd end up back here years later, with three kids and the entire group living together again. It was crazy how life had gone full circle, and she was thankful for this group God had given her. She was gracious, even in the midst of the chaos again. It wasn't easy, but with everyone helping, they made it work.

* * *

Beca decided that that weekend, she and Teddy would have a "mommy and me"

weekend before their vacation next week. Beca dreaded going on any trip away from home and generally tried to avoid any disturbance to Evie's routine. Evie didn't adjust well to new surroundings or any disruption to what was normal for her, despite living in a somewhat chaotic household.

Beca never thought she'd be the sentimental mom that would go on one on one time dates with her children, but after everything that they had gone through, she wanted her children to know that they were still loved and cared for forever. That just because Beca had to work a lot and they often were at school or with the other girls, that she didn't love them any less. Beca couldn't wait for next year, just right around the corner, when she would begin to make her own hours again.

"Have you thought about what you want for Christmas?" Beca asked her six year old as she glanced in her rearview mirror to look at him, watching the traffic pass out the window.

"I'm just happy for our vacation!" Teddy exclaims gratefully, and Beca's heart glowed.

Teddy was her easy child, more chill like his father. Not to say he didn't get enthusiastic about movies, but Beca wondered if he knew that he had gotten that enthusiasm from his daddy, or if it was just another distant memory. Beca saw Jesse in him everyday, right down to the curly, Jewish-like hair. Jesse had been raised Jewish and still had a mini-Hanukkah for the kids, but converted to Christianity long ago. They were their own multicultural family.

Beca would never admit it, but she missed Jesse's enthusiasm for the holidays, and even put the tree up after thanksgiving every year like he would. She used to think it was ridiculous and ruined her 'Christmas Cheer' because she was tired of Christmas long before it came, but Jesse would have the tree up all year 'round if she let him. It was his favorite holiday. In their second year of marriage, she had compromised with him and agreed that the tree could go up the day _after_ Thanksgiving.

"What should we do today, little man?" Beca asked as she flicked on her turn signal, merging into the left lane.

"Mom," He exaggerated in his little-grownup voice, "I'm six! I'm not little man, anymore." He interjected and Beca laughed.

"Sorry, 'big' guy." She corrected, her heart breaking at the thought that he was so grown up.

Gosh, she hoped it wasn't a manly ego thing when he grew up, and he would always be that little boy, a mini Jesse as he got older. The girls already seemed that they were gonna be handfuls as teenagers, and often gave the girls a run for their money, but Teddy was a tenderhearted, laid back little kid. And Beca really appreciated that.

"Well, what do you say we go to movie day at the Library?" Beca suggests and Teddy contemplates in deep thought.

Beca appreciated movie just as much as the next parent, seeing it as time to spend with Teddy one on one, and it cost nothing. Beca didn't believe that she needed to spend money to have a good time with her child, and Teddy loved it, so it wasn't just a free pass. They often would go to story time at the library, but haven't been there in a while, actually since Evie had learned to walk six months ago. Movie day was once a month, and it gave them an excuse to bond.

"Sure, but can we get ice cream for me then, after?" Teddy asks and Beca laughs.

It really touched her how Teddy thought of others before himself. He had learned so in Sunday school and it stuck with him, because Teddy had always felt compelled to do so anyways. He must have thought that Beca really wanted to go to the movie, and it was sweet that he agreed to do so for his mom.

"Today is about you, Teddy. We can do something else if you don't wanna see the movie. Don't worry about what mommy wants to do, okay? You won't hurt my feelings." She reassured him, watching his face light up.

"Mmm…" He thought aloud, "Can you sign me up for that musical?" He finally asked and Beca was shocked.

"You want to do a musical?" She asked for confirmation and he nodded.

She was surprised, because though Teddy did express a love for music, and would sing aloud to Evie every night, she hadn't thought he had any interest in doing it in front of others. She loved these mommy and kid days because she felt like she learned a lot more about her kids.

"Sure! Where on earth did you hear about that?" She asked.

"Aunt Chloe told me. It's at the place she goes for practice." He informs her and Beca rolls her eyes.

' _Chloe, of course.' Beca thought to herself before looking back at Teddy again._

Teddy had a nice set of pipes for being only six, fine voice control. He was of course still high and squeaky, but hopefully time (and puberty) would fix that.

"Is that something you really want to do?" She tests him to see if it was something he wanted, or something Chloe had put into his head.

"Daddy told me that someday I could. And now I'm six, so I want to" He informed her and Beca felt her heart stop.

Did he actually just mention his daddy, or was he repeating something he had overheard Beca or the others say at one point? Beca knew Jesse had a theater dream for their children, but Teddy was two when Jesse died. How could he possibly remember any of the talk that came from Jesse's mouth. A cold shiver ran up Beca's spine and she was desperate to drop the conversation. But it was healthy for them to talk about their father, right? Isn't that was her therapist had said.

"Sure Sweetie! We'll go sign you up, then we'll get some ice cream." She deterred the subject, feeling her torrid body, as stiff as a board, finally ease up a bit.

She was going to mention this to Chloe later, asking if she knew anything about Teddy wanting to do a play, because to her it had felt out of nowhere. She wasn't gonna mention that he had brought up Jesse and she had felt like a bullet had wedged itself into her lungs. Was she really that absent that she didn't know her own kid wanted to be in a play, or was this really that random? Was anything really random?

Half an hour after they had finally settled in the ice cream parlor, Beca got a frantic call from Chloe, crying as she told Beca that Evie had split her lip on the edge of the toilet. She hadn't wanted to leave the tub, (a new one, considering it was a chore in itself to get her into the tub), and when Chloe lifted her from the tub the slippery child grappled herself from Chloe's hold and hit the toilet.

"I'm sorry Teddy." Beca's heart wrenched, knowing it wasn't unfair to only Teddy, but also expect the girls to handle it. She was a mother after all.

"It's okay, mommy. Evie needs us." He bravely smiles and Beca was thankful for this perfect, understanding little boy of hers, always eager to help her.

Teddy reaches up, taking Beca's hand as they walk back to the car. He dribbled ice cream all down his booster seat and onto the seat belt, the hot Georgia sun melting it quickly through the rolled down, van window.

That was another thing Beca couldn't imagine, was driving a minivan because all her kids were still in seats. But she also couldn't wait for the day they got to ride on the Bella's bus for the first time because a bigger car meant more room for the whole family to be together on every adventure, in every season of life.


	5. The Perfect Vacation?

Beca had hated packing for the Bella's trips in college with every ounce of her being, but enjoyed the vacation itself. At least when they weren't stressing over winning or perfecting the dances and songs to a "T", or when Chloe wasn't going crazy over winning the World's their last year of college. Beca considered the trips to the ICCA's relaxing because she would chill on the bus with her headphones in and nap, or stare out the windows. It was a nice time where her Bella family would go to compete, but when they weren't on stage, they spent their free time in the hotel in each other's rooms, or go sightseeing in New York. It never got old spending time with the girls, and Beca missed it.

Beca had thought packing for herself to go to New York for a few days was difficult, but she could have never imagined packing for five days with three kids and the entire group. She had felt like she had to mother over the girls too, hovering them in order to get them to pack themselves. The girls were always preoccupied, whether it was with the children, or watching TV together in the living room. The house was always busy up until bedtime, when they would hiss at each other to be quiet.

Packing for their surprise vacation proved to be easier than she had thought because she had the help of the rest of the girls to make sure everything was in order, including Evie. Evie struggled with change but they hoped that she would be excited for this, but they knew it wouldn't be easy because she had different needs than Beca's other two.

Beca never thought that they'd get to go on vacation because they worried about how Evie would handle the disruption to their routine, but she deserved a vacation just like the rest and Beca would sure as heck make sure she was given equal chances. Her disability wasn't a roadblock or burden, and Beca wouldn't go on vacation if she didn't think they could handle it. Evie shouldn't be kept from seeing the world just because Beca was afraid of how she handled it. She wouldn't know unless they took the chance.

"Can we please tell them?" Chloe whined like a little kid, dying to tell the girls where they were going.

"They deserve a surprise especially after how crazy this year has been. This is my _Thank you!_ to them. We all could use a getaway." Beca reminds her, smiling as she sat on the floor, folding Evie's limited clothes collection into the suitcase.'

"They'd be more appreciative if they knew what to thank you for! And if they knew how to pack their suitcases." Chloe teases as she throws her suitcase on Beca's bed, and loading her clothes from her side of the room into it.

Chloe was indecisive on what to pack, but packed lighter clothes because it would be hot, and tennis shoes for walking. She also had sandals and flip flops for the beach, a swimsuit in case they would swim at the hotel at night if the beach was too dark or cold or even crowded. Her suitcase was filled to the brim and Beca only laughed, teasing her that customs wouldn't let her through, or would just count her suitcase as another person. Luckily, they were driving, so there would be no rush through customs.

Next Beca packed little backpacks for her children to carry with them, with a coloring and activity page book for each kid, some crayons, and a puzzle to work on together. Evie had her baby doll in the pocket of her backpack, along with some Jumbo crayons since her motor development was poor for a two year old. She also had an iPod filled with two painful hours of nursery songs, but to keep Beca's sanity on the drive, she also had Disney music, which she would never admit, but all the girls knew she loved. She was definitely not 'too' cool.

"Is your alarm set for six?" Beca asked for reassurance, knowing that she had already checked in with the others and they assured her three times already that they were ready.

"Yes, Beca." Chloe laughed as she struggled to zip her bag. "And the snack bag is sitting on the counter, and the portable DVD player is in the car, along with a dozen different movies."

Chloe really was ready to go and take a vacation. She was ready to get out of Georgia and see a little more of the east coast. She wanted to get away from the familiar scenery and into something more beachy. She wanted the experience of taking the girls and Teddy along the boardwalk and to different shops on the water. She was really excited to be a part of planning this vacation, but was even more excited about taking the journey to Florida than she was being there.

She was corny but truly believe it was the journey and not the destination, and missed her long car trips with the girls that they used to take. Not to say she wasn't grateful and excited to see what Florida had to offer, because surprisingly, she hadn't been there before. Beca's family used to vacation there all the time when she was little, she remembers Beca's stories of her dad pulling over on the side of the road, and Beca and her brother Michael jumping out of their car to run barefoot across the sand, and hop along all the rocks.

Chloe couldn't understand why Beca felt the urgency to get up so early, forcing everyone from their beds when the trip was only six hours from Georgia to Florida, but Beca had claimed it gave them time to hopefully beat traffic, and settle in for the day once they got to the hotel. Beca liked to get where she was going early because it gave them the day to unwind and adjust, instead of feeling rushed to get everywhere, or getting there super late. And for Evie, she had the day to relax from the car ride once they got there.

When their alarms went off that morning, the girls groaned and all fumbled around in the dark, none of them wanting to be blinded by the lights in their rooms, already a little sour from the blazing of their alarms so early in the morning. Jessica and Ashley were the first to emerge from their room, finding that Beca had gotten up a half an hour earlier than planned to help finish getting the kids things together, and double checking Teddy's suitcase since he was six now, and she had let him do it on his own for the most part.

Beca laughed as she pulled out his entire rock and toy truck collection that was piled in the bottom of his tiny suitcase, stretching the cover until it looked like the blue case was about to explode. She ruffled through the rest to make sure he hadn't replaced anything Beca ha set out for him to pack, but when she got to the zippers on the front, her heart shriveled when she found what was inside.

It was a piece of Jesse's old Treble's blazer that he had worn their freshman year that Jesse had taken the lining out of, and made into a velvety-silky blanket for his newborn son that he had felt so much pride for. He was hopeful that Teddy could carry it around and one day become a Treble himself. Beca was horrified when he had brought the jacket home and the inside was gone, but Jesse reassured her that the outside was still intact and it hadn't mattered because he had given his son something important to him.

Beca cried the day he had brought the blanket home, not only because she was eight months pregnant and flooded with hormones, but she realized that no matter how much her pregnancy had sucked towards the end, she was thankful to go through it with him. She was probably gonna miss going to the USO's with the girls, but she didn't care. She wouldn't want to miss a day of her son's life and a day seeing Jesse being the greatest father he could be.

"Teddy, are you sure you want to take this? What if you lose it?" Beca asked startled, not recalling the last time he had dragged that around with him outside his bed because he had been afraid to lose it.

"It's in my bed every night with me, Mommy. I know how important it is, and it's like daddy is here with us. I don't want to sleep without him."

"Do you remember anything about Daddy?" Beca, strickin by curiosity, suddenly asks, but she knew the answer.

"No, but you told us he loved us a lot." Teddy smiled, and Beca felt herself tear up.

"He absolutely loved us, very much! He made that blanket from his favorite jacket he wore when he sang on stage. It was very special to him, so he wanted you to have it too!"

Beca knelt down, opening her arms and the little boy fell into her embrace, unsure why his mother was tearing up a bit, but his little heart was made of Gold and three sizes bigger than it should be, metaphorically. He loved his mom and siblings, and all of the Bella's, and even though it was all the family he had known, it was all the family he would ever need. Beca couldn't imagine ever remarrying, especially if she did find a good guy but he refused to accept her kids as his own. The Bella's did that already, and Beca could never throw them out, no matter how much she loved the guy.

"Alright Buddy, are you ready to get dressed so we can go on vacation?" She enthusiastically asked and he kissed Beca on the cheek before nodding.

Aubrey was a control freak still, as much as she had let go a little from her college days, and had gotten up an hour earlier than everyone else. So when she wasn't downstairs ready to load the bus with everyone else they were concerned, but she had been upstairs with Chloe, making sure that Evie and Rosie were ready to go.

"What do you say we get you in a comfy sundress, miss Evie?" Chloe asked, because she was the only one that Evie didn't have resistance towards.

Evie was your normal, extremely sassy and sometimes difficult child, and loved giving the other girls a run for their money. She would run around naked sometimes, giggling hysterically as the other girls chased her because it was her favorite game. Chloe knew how to outsmart her and would make anything and everything a game already because she had already helped Beca through the terrible twos, two other times, and had plenty of niece's and nephew's of her own. Chloe's profession was mostly working with children in camps, and though the youngest group were second graders, she had to get creative when thinking of ways to get them to listen.

"Evie, where's your head?" She asked, and Evie put her palms on her head. "Good! Can you show me again, and put your dress over it?" She commanded and Evie took the dress.

Getting dressed was Evie's favorite part of her day when Chloe helped her do it. Chloe always made a game out of her chores to get Evie to listen. Evie was just like her siblings and hated doing chores, after all, chores weren't supposed to be fun. But her Aunt Chloe always made her want to help out and do her tasks, because she was expected to do it like everyone else.

Beca had a picture chart on Evie's closet, picturing everything she had to complete that morning, and Evie loved moving the laminated pictures and velcro-ing them to the empty boxes on the other side of the chart to show that they were done. If Evie got them all done, she could have a treat that night with her sibling, given that they had completed their charts too. Rosie loved to follow Aubrey around, and even one day had put a mop pad on the bottom of one of Teddy's toy trucks, pushing it around the floor to clean.

"Evie, what shoes do you want to wear today?" Chloe finally asked, opening her closet door.

"No, shoes." She shook her head, signing 'shoes'.

Chloe sighed, deciding that it wasn't a battle she would want to pick because they were going to be on the bus most of the day anyways. She would fight to get her shoes on later, when they stopped for lunch or got out to stretch. But now, when they were leaving in half an hour, was not the time.

Meanwhile Aubrey chatted with Rosie, laughing as Rosie had come out of her closet in her princess dress. Rosie loved dressing up no matter the occasion, and even though Aubrey knew it was gonna be a little warm for the costume, she smiled in defeat.

"You look beautiful, princess Rosie!" Aubrey smiled, remembering when she'd dress up like a child to dance on her father's feet.

"Mommy says she use to dance on daddy's feet!" Rosie exclaimed, and Aubrey wondered how she remembered that.

"She did?" Aubrey playfully gasped. "Like a real king and queen?" She encouragingly played along and Rosie nodded, a huge grin stretched across her face.

"Yeah! Daddy's gone, but she tell me she did." Her little voice confirmed for Aubrey.

"Your daddy loved mommy very much, and you too Rosie! He would call you his little 'Princess Rosie Posie'." Aubrey smiled as the little girl sat in her lap so she could get her hair done.

"Mommy calls me that!" She exclaimed excitedly before changing the subject. "Can you do princess crown?" Rosie asks, referring to the crown dutch braid that Aubrey would do around her head.

Beca glanced at the clock, noting that it was five minutes before they had to go, and no one was loading the bus, nor were they even downstairs by the kitchen back door, where Beca had dictated that they met. She hadn't always been a timely person she presumed, but being a mother had made her time oriented and she often stressed about making it to parent teacher conferences, doctor appointments, and even just to the bus on time.

It made her grow frustrated when the other girls dismissed her, even though she knew she wasn't doing this on her own and had their help. She greatly appreciated them, but she wished they could all get ready in a timely matter, even with three kids.

"Bellas? Are you almost ready? We were supposed to be on the bus by now!" She shouted up the stairs, shaking her head jokingly at Teddy and he caught on to her frustration.

"You're my good child, you know that Teddy?" She laughed, knowing that he was definitely sometimes more mature for his age than the girls.

"Come on, Aunties!" He echoed Beca, laughing as Cynthia-Rose ran down the stairs, her suitcase losing balance off its wheels and tumbling to the bottom.

The rest of the girls followed about thirty seconds behind, Aubrey pulling her suitcase down the staircase with one hand and pulling Rosie along with the other, Rosie accountable for her own suitcase. Chloe bounced down the steps with Evie on her hip and her suitcase behind her, Evie's strapped to the top of hers. No one noticed that Jessica and Ashley had already boarded the bus because they were mostly accountable for themselves, and the girls didn't need to keep an eye on them. It was Stacie the girls agreed they worried most about, because she was out the night before partying.

"Stacie, we're gonna to leave, with or without you!" Beca made a final call, but it was Amy who came tumbling down the stairs, Stacie lagging behind her with her things.

"Amy? Where have you been?" Beca noted her dark glasses and pale face in horror.

"Partying with Stacie last night. I might be a wee bit hungover." She groaned and the girls rolled their eyes.

Aubrey grabbed Amy a puke bucket for the trip, a water bottle, and some peanuts. She prayed that she wouldn't puke on the bus or act weird in front of the kids because it was too long of a road trip for it to end up smelling like a barnyard explosion on that small bus. Especially since it was both Amy and Stacie, and neither could really hold their liquor.

They usually played different singing contests to decide who would drive, and this time it was Cynthia-Rose. She lost by default because she had a cold and the challenge was 'who could hold the note the longest', and the first person to break had to drive. Though to make it fair, the driver got to pick the music. Beca loved that rule because normally as a mother, she played children music off of her ipod for short trips in their minivan to the store.

At least on this road trip she got to hear everything from rock to pop, to today's top hits. They played 80's music, but they all had an unspoken rule that no one could play "I Saw the Sign" because it was like a nightmarish anthem that no one wanted to necessarily remember. But when they were driving a another familiar anthem came on, they all looked to Beca, who looked up from handing Evie her blanket in her car seat.

"You're not still too cool for this now, are you Mitchell?" Aubrey teases, knowing that she was never 'too cool' for it, but only had played off like she needed convincing to sing along.

"Absolutely not." She smirked as they chimed in.

 _And the Jay-Z song was on,_

 _And the Jay-Z, song was ooonnnn…._

Beca laughed incredulously as she played along, this time more than happy to join in. The circumstances were different and so were their relationships which made it even more fun for this song to come on. The entire road trip was mapped out and Beca could already see the adventures that lie ahead the rest of the week.


	6. Birth of a Bella and Vacation

The day Evelyn Grace Swanson had been born was to say the very least, emotional. Beca had already known what to expect yet she didn't look at this experience any different than she did with the other two. She did know how much she had to learn yet how much her heart could swell with love until she loved someone with Down Syndrome. All the misconceptions she had, all the fears and troubles of the past, everything had faded the moment she looked into little Evie's eyes. Love was blind.

The whole world had stopped and it felt like no time was passing at all, it was every cliche feeling in the world that she could feel looking at the infant until the doctor's finally took her away to check out her heart problems that she had been having. There was a small murmur in her heart and a tiny hole, but nothing a few surgeries and close monitoring couldn't fix.

Beca was forty-one weeks and four days, scheduled for her first and only induction she had ever had, and it was difficult to cope with because she hadn't endured it with her husband. She of course was thankful for the girls, but the whirlwind of confusing emotions hit her like a trainwreck. She felt guilty, sadness, anger, resentment, hurt, fear, everything she was told she would feel when she was grieving Jesse. But alongside it came joy, and peace, overwhelming happiness that she finally had her daughter safe in her arms.

"Are you sure you don't want the epidural? You're going to feel _everything!_ " Chloe had informed her, but Beca was stubborn.

She was told labor contractions were worse when they induced you, much stronger than when she had gone into labor with Teddy and Rosie. But Teddy had been a back labor and she thought nothing could get worse than that, until she had a third degree tear with him. She had been administered an epidural that time and thanked God she let go of her stubbornness because the recovery was painful enough. She had said she wanted to experience labor to its fullest because she hadn't known if she'd have another, and honestly if she hadn't gotten the epidural, there probably would have been no Rosie.

Beca sat up and leaned forward on her palms, as she breathed through another contraction. Chloe sat beside her on the bed, rubbing her back with one hand and gathering her hair with the other. The pain had been so intense that Beca thought she was going to throw up, a side effect of the Pitocin they had given her. She swore she had every side effect known to man after they induced her, and the epidural even more.

She was shivering profusely even though the nurses had brought her two more blankets, and cold sweats ran down her spine and across her entire body. She felt ill, like she had the chills but was also blazing hot. The nausea had hit her roughly, and a bed tray was set beside her in case she actually threw up. She came closer and closer to it every time she had another contraction, but nothing compared to when they finally broke her water and they hit her so hard, she thought she was going to pass out.

Thankfully, Chloe was there beside her every step of the way, reminding her to breathe and relax, also encouraging her to throw up if she had to because it might relieve some tension and help her relax. Chloe hated seeing her in pain and begged her to consider an epidural, but Beca heard recovery was faster when you weren't drugged up, and she wanted the freedom to try every labor position she could.

The girls were waiting in the lobby with Teddy who was three at the time, and Rosie, barely a year and a half. They were so little so the concept of having a sibling wasn't hitting them really. Beca hated to think things were going to change so much and wanted to see her children before they became a big brother and sister.

"Beca? Your older children are here." A nurse informed her, inviting in Flo and Emily with Rosie and Teddy.

Rosie ran up to the bed, yanking at the blanket in order to hoist herself up, and Chloe lifted her to the bed. Beca instantly picked her up, setting her on her enlarged stomach and hugging her in her arms. She wanted Rosie to know that she was still her baby, but in a different way now. She wanted to hold on to this moment forever, but she knew once the baby was here (hopefully) Rosie would be enthusiastic about it. Until she and Teddy realized the baby was actually going home with them and needed a lot of mommy's attention.

"I love you Rosie-Posie." She kissed her daughter on the head before leaning over and kissing Teddy too.

"In my country, as soon as the baby popped out, they were put to work." Flo informed Beca and Beca, horrified, decided that it was probably time for them to leave.

"You're gonna do great, mom!" Emily enthusiastically informed her and Beca smiled.

"Thanks, Legacy." Beca smiled warmly.

Beca had tears that stung her eyes and the pain was so sharp that she had thought someone was using a meat slicer to cut across her abdomen and simultaneously stabbing her uterus with a knife twisting into her organs.

It was a pain that she hated with a passion but knew that there was a silver lining that always made it worth it. At least that's what everyone said, and Beca loved her children, but she honestly thought that Teddy was going to be her last. Then when she was in labor with Rosie and her epidural wore off early, she decided that Rosie may be her last. But once again God laughed and she was pregnant a third time. And when the doctor came in to check her and she was finally an eight, she muttered under her breath, reassure that this was the final time as she yelled at the doctor to get out of her because it hurt.

"Is it too late for the epidural?" Chloe had asked and the doctor nodded.

"I'm afraid so. There's no going back now." He informed them, and Beca cried harder.

She wasn't sure what scared her more, being unprepared, or the fact that even after the third time, she really wasn't sure what she was getting into. She knew the obvious things like sleep deprivation, and it wasn't a big deal because Rosie was going through her sleep regression. She hadn't slept since Rosie was born and it was even harder because she was pregnant. She truly was in the mind set that the next time she slept through the night, Teddy would be in college.

It was another hour before she was fully dilated, and Chloe was sure that after that day, she'd be down a hand, literally and figuratively. In that time, Beca had puked twice, once all over her hospital gown, and the nurses had helped her into a fresh gown. She was miserable and cold and anxious, her entire body shaking beneath the blankets as Chloe held her.

She was too cold to move at that point despite wanting to try different laboring positions and walking around earlier. Chloe offered Beca her 'peanut ball' to put between her legs to open up her pelvis more, but Beca refused. She just lay on her side, her hands intensely gripping the railing of her bed, unable to pry herself off as her breaks between contractions became virtually nonexistent. She wasn't in her own body anymore, it was like she was in a whole different place.

"You're doing great, Becs!" Chloe had exclaimed for reassurance and Beca wasn't sure if that was helping, or made her want to punch Chloe.

Beca's nausea was only increased tenfold by the fact that she hadn't eaten much prior to being induced, and the hospitals rules only allowed jello and ice chips. She was mad that they wouldn't let her eat during labor because at that point, who cared if she pooped? She already had a team of doctors and nurses looking downstairs every hour to see her progress, so all privacy and care about modesty was out the window at that point.

"You're ready to push!" Dr. Jermaine had finally exclaimed when she checked Beca and Beca felt her heart drop in her chest.

Chloe held her hand with one hand and helped hold her leg with the other like the doctor instructed. Beca was in an amount of pain far more fair than anyone should have to endure. She wasn't a mother and couldn't grasp why anyone would voluntarily do this, but when she saw Beca's two already perfect children, she kind of could understand.

The hardest part of her labor wasn't just physically, but the emotions she had felt during it. It was an emotional roller coaster of grief and joy all at once, coming in waves like contractions but were their own separate feeling. Beca sobbed on the way to the hospital, begging the baby to wait, claiming that she wasn't ready to meet this precious face that was conceived despite unfortunate circumstances.

She wasn't ready to meet her because it made the reality of everything that happened feel more intense and real because this was the last piece of Jesse she felt like she physically had. Of course she had this baby forever, but it wasn't the same as experiencing this pregnancy so shortly after tragedy. Now she actually had to raise this child, her first time without Jesse, and honestly if it couldn't be him, she wouldn't have anyone else but the Bella's. They were her family, them and her faith and her children were all she had now.

"I'm not ready! I can't meet her! This can't be happening, no! I don't wanna push!" Beca moaned and screamed, begging them to let her legs go.

"Beca, that isn't really an option, Sweetie." The nurse flatly informed her, a little sympathy in her voice.

Beca's blue eyes were red rimmed and looked as if they had lost their beautiful color, turning a rather _blah_ grey. Chloe could see the exhaustion and fear on her face, she was overwhelmed and Chloe could read it off her face like a book. Beca didn't believe she could do this, and she needed Chloe to reassure her she could.

"Everything leading up to now has sucked and slapped you in the face, I know!" Chloe coaches, looking her directly and seriously in the eyes.

Beca had never seen Chloe look so intensely and seriously into her eyes, like a coach giving a pep talk to an underdog player, or a parents trying to motivate their child. It was a side Beca didn't know she had, but it was sure something she needed to see.

"But now isn't the time to give up or grieve. You're gonna have your daughter in your arms shortly, and briefly, nothing else is gonna matter because you're gonna forget everything leading up to now. None of it's going to feel as important as this moment, and right not its not about your past. It's about what birth symbolizes, a new beginning, a new life! And right now, your new beginning is this baby! So forget everything that lead up to that because in a second, none of that will matter. Your baby is what matters!"

Beca had grieved Jesse for months, and she knew Chloe didn't mean that she couldn't grieve or feel anything, that wasn't what she was saying at all. She was telling her to focus on the good, everything the grief and heartache has lead her to, and how none of the pain will matter in the moment that she held her daughter because she would be too head over heels to focus on anything else. She was telling her to take the pain seek the good that came from it. Evie was her rainbow after storm.

"You can do this!" Chloe smiled, grabbing for Beca's hand again, tears streaming down her face too.

Beca took a shaky breath and bore down, panting deep in her chest it burned, longing for air. She didn't know how long she could do it, and couldn't believe the unimaginable pain. Had it been that bad with Teddy? She was sure she'd never forget the pain, and if it had been that bad, she'd remember. Or maybe Teddy's birth was easier in comparison?

"You're crowning Beca!" She heard Dr. Jermaine shout and she let out a heavy gasp in defeat.

Her determination didn't fade, if anything, the pain made her want to get it over faster so that she could meet her baby. She wanted to feel the baby on her chest, see her wrinkly hands and feet and squished up face. She wanted to feel the warmth of her skin and hear her heart beating on her chest. It was a feeling even Beca, with the faux tough act she used to have, would break down her walls over and over for these three beautiful children of hers.

"Oh. My. Goooosssh!" Beca screamed, and growled as she threw her head back in anguish as they pulled the rest of the baby out.

Beca's heart raced but her body relaxed as she heard the cry of her daughter entering the world. It was then that she lost control over everything and broke down, greedily reaching in anticipation for the miracle she had been waiting for for the last nine months. It didn't make a difference in the world what her daughter was diagnosed with, she just wanted her there.

Nothing matters when you loved someone so much, you only see the good in them, not physical attributes. So what if people thought that she looked a little different, to Beca she was everything and perfect. All the stereotypes and fears in her mind were vanished. In her mind, she was quintuply times a billion, blessed.

"I love you; I love you so much!" Beca gasped frantically for her baby in between breaths, mentally apologizing for everything.

They briskly dried her off and removed the blood and gunk from her tiny 18 inch, seven pound, three ounce body. Beca graciously took the hospital blanket and cuddled the infant into the warmth of her chest, the benefits of skin to skin something she had looked into from the day she knew she was pregnant with Teddy.

"You look so much like him it hurts; I love you, sweet girl." Beca cried, before she was interrupted.

"We've gotta take her for examination. I'm sorry Mrs. Swanson."

She reluctantly let go of Evie to let them examine her in another room. It gave her time to catch her breath and for the room to stop spinning, though she wasn't sure she could will herself to stop crying, not that that was really important. Suddenly, she didn't feel like she was missing a piece of herself anymore.

"Do you have a name?" Chloe asked in order to distract Beca for a bit.

"Evelyn Grace."

"I love it!" Chloe smile, stroking back Beca's sweaty and matted hair from her face.

"Well, it's definitely better than ' _Theodore Bender'._ " Beca lightheartedly laughed before growing serious again, "Thank you, Chloe. I seriously love you guys, tremendously."

"Little Evie! It's perfect!" Chloe cooed as she gave her a friendly kiss on her forehead. "We love you too, Beca. You and the kids are our family."

That day on, their lives would be different, but Beca learned that change and letting others love her wasn't so bad. Where would she be without the Bellas? That was a question that she never wanted to know. But what she did know, was that she was seriously grateful that they had been there, because it had been a rough year.

It wasn't until the day she found out about Evie having down syndrome that she had truly felt some peace in her life. She wasn't afraid of her daughter having down syndrome, she was afraid that she might not have been healthy, and she was. Beca had a history of Trisomy 21 in her family, and though it wasn't genetic, she had an amniocentesis every pregnancy to look for diseases and such.

It didn't matter to Beca that her child had a disability, she was more relieved to hear that Evie was a healthy baby and that they weren't going to lose her. To her there was no "Risk" of having a child with a disability, there was a chance, and to her, those words did mean differently.

It was a beautiful variation in genetics that made her so beautiful and so unique. Differences were beautiful to her, and how someone worded something was very important to her. She wasn't a "down syndrome" child, she was a child with down syndrome. That phrase meant a difference to her, because Evie wasn't her disability, and was smart and amazing, more than her physical attributes, and she wished others could see past that visual difference and see that she was like everyone else.

She wished there was no label, because she was just like every child. She was a beautiful soul, spirited, sassy. She was a little behind on development but she was happy and healthy and that was all Beca could have wanted for her. She wanted the world to see more than just visual individual differences that see them as human. She wanted them to understand and be her friend. She hated to think that someone wouldn't be Evie's friend because of that, and it made her sick.

She remembered the day vividly that she had found out, because just three days early she had gone with Chloe to he appointment, and made her promise to be there when they got the call. But Chloe could do her one better and have the whole family there because that was what was most important to Beca. Having the Bella's there to find out with her that her baby was thriving and even if she was diagnosed with something, it would change in Beca's eyes that this child was a perfect little, God given miracle.

Beca had been waiting for two days to hear back from her doctor's office. It had been a long drag of a week and she couldn't imagine that anything worse could be happening. She feared that they would call, that her baby would be sick, that he or she wouldn't make it to term or die shortly after. All she wanted to hear was that the baby was healthy because she didn't know if she could take anymore heartbreak in her lifetime.

" _Beca, pacing isn't good for you. I think it stresses out the baby." Chloe warned her, watching as Beca stopped every few steps to glance at her phone._

" _This is huge Chloe! Don't you want to know if the baby is gonna be healthy so that if its not we can be prepared?" She stressed through her teeth._

" _What's it gonna change if the baby is sick or disabled? Other than being prepared for the worst if they're sick, maybe. But who cares if they have a disability? It's not gonna change the fact that we'll love them, and learn to adjust to their needs." Aubrey chimed in and the other girls nodded._

" _It's not disability that I'm worried about. That couldn't matter less to me if the baby had a disability, they're loved and just the same as anyone else. It's sickness and the thought of losing the baby that scares me!"_

 _Beca bit her nails and knew it was all true, it was just more comforting hearing it from someone else. As a mom all she wanted to know was that her kids were safe and happy. That she hadn't carried this pregnancy twenty weeks only to be filled with more heartbreak. She believed God had purpose for everything, but couldn't bear to try and fathom another passing ._

" _It's could be worse; You baby could've been a twin and eaten its sibling in the womb." Fat Amy facetiously chimes in and the girls shoot her a look except for lily, who nods in agreement._

 _It was then that her phone lit up, and the room went quiet. Chloe scooted closer to Beca and held her hand while Fat Amy rested her arm around Beca's shoulder, waiting to hear something. Anything._

" _Hello? This is she." She answers, her heart palpitating harder, palms sweaty._

" _In my country, bad news usually meant our parents were going to sell us for food. I started with eleven siblings and now it's just my brother and I. When I was younger I escaped to America so I wouldn't be sent away to..."_

 _Flo begins to add to the tension unhelpfully, and Cynthia Rose claps a hand over her mouth before she can continue. The girls only knew how talk and crack light jokes in serious times except for Aubrey, who stressed about everything._

" _Whatever happens guys, we're gonna love this baby and everything is going to be fine. It's aca-mazing that we're all living together in the first place again, so I believe it's going to work out. We're family!" Emily cheerfully adds and Fat Amy groans._

" _Ugh, Legacy! You're so naive and insensitive. You think it's amazing that we're living together because Beca's husband is dead and she was raising kids alone?" Fat Amy snaps out of annoyance._

" _Well, when you put it like that, I sound like a dirtbag." She mumbles with guilt, and feeling Aubrey's comforting hand slip into hers._

 _Beca was strangely quiet and they assumed that there was a either a pause on the other line, or there was a lot to say and it was bad news. But how could a disabled child be bad news? They were a joy, they were a blessing bringing light into the world to help people realize that we were all unique creations, but it didn't make us less human. God was good. Evie was good._

 _That's it?" Beca snaps incredulously, "Oh thank the Lord!" Beca praised before hanging up and the girls faces were painted with confusion as she hung up._

" _What was that?" The girls pressed to know._

" _The baby has down syndrome, not that that makes any difference! And he or she is completely healthy. Not to say that we won't have some learning and adjusting to do, as we would with any other baby. But he or she is healthy and that's all that matters. It doesn't change a thing."_

 _Chloe studied Beca's blase expression, sure she was going to break. She had seemed so calm and unamused that it almost worried Chloe that she was throwing up walls again, and not coping properly. But to Beca it wasn't a grieving that her child had a disability, it was a celebration of uniqueness and life. Her baby was healthy and that was a matter to praise God for. Instead of thinking about the worst, she chose to see the positive._

 _Beca never thought "Oh no, my poor child." but instead replaced her mindset of "My child is going to be healthy and happy". Instead, she would show her children that it was okay to be sad and worried sometimes, but to try and change the negative into a positive. And though Beca herself was still somewhat closed off emotionally, being a mother (and knowing Chloe for a decade was enough for the ginger to rub off on her)._

* * *

"Momma? Are we there yet?" Rosie asked, rolling her head to the side as she groggily woke up from her nap.

"Soon, baby. Why don't we play a game of i-Spy?" Beca suggests, trying to distract her.

The bus' coach seats were now sideways, lined against the windows like a subway car instead of in rows like they had been. The girls had to install actual seat belts instead of lap belts when they moved in and had to go places with many of them. Usually Beca just took her minivan when it was a few of the girls, but this trip required the bus. The kids were growing restless and impatient because they were tired of only being able to see out the window straight across from them, and it didn't help their want to roam and play around the bus when the other girls were moving about freely.

Fat Amy moved to the front, standing behind Cynthia Rose as she drove to make conversation. Chloe had fallen asleep on Beca's shoulder, snuggled up with her blue and yellow, fleece blanket because the air conditioning was blasting on the rare occasion that it worked.

As much as she hated shivering and being cold, she was thankful for the air because it was still in the 80's that week. Opening a window would have been too breezy at freeway speed, but on the backroads it wouldn't be cool enough. So she leaned against Beca as Beca leaned into the velvet lining of Evie's chair, trying to get as much sleep as she could, but she woke up when Rosie's little voice searched for hers from across the bus.

Evie was sound asleep, and Beca hoped to keep it that way after the fight she had trying to get her back into it after they had stopped for a lunch and bathroom break. Beca had anticipated that they would make lots of stops considering that Evie wasn't potty trained and had soaked through her pants completely. Thankfully there was many diapers in her suitcase because as much as they tried to get her to potty train, she wasn't ready and always ended up taking a step back.

Chloe restlessly rolled her head off of Beca's shoulder, fluttering her eyes open as she squinted painfully at the sudden light. She hadn't known how long she had been asleep, but she heard Rosie's little voice telling her that it was her turn, though she didn't know for what. She just smiled, agreeing to whatever Rosie had just talked her into.

"We're playing 'i-spy'." Beca whispered informatively in order to catch her up to speed.

"Okay… i-spy with my little eye," Chloe sleepily began in a singsong voice subconsciously. "Something….white."

"Border patrol." Flo chimes in, "I.C.E." She also adds.

"The color white, Flo; Not like the race, "caucasian white"." Beca interjects, reminding her that Rosie was only three.

Chloe was unsure what to say after that and Rosie had clearly lost interest in looking for whatever it was that Chloe had seen. She wanted a turn and was eager to try and trick her aunt Chloe.

"i-Spy with my little eye, something...Black." Rosie hinted and Cynthia Rose looked up in the rearview mirror at her.

"Nope, we're done. Game's over." Beca jumped in quickly, hoping to avoid any racial tension between Flo and Cynthia Rose.

"Okay… why don't we pull over to stretch?" Aubrey suggest, noting that Teddy was growing squeamish and ansty in his chair.

There was a little park in the little beachy town they were passing through, just off the beach in a picnic area. Beca had packed a plentiful feast of snacks to feed not just the kids but the entire Bella's because they were a bunch of bottomless pits. They never stopped being hungry and it seemed like there was never any food in the house because they ate her out of house and home. They all chipped in for groceries and took terms, but once the pantry was full, it almost fell immediately empty.

Once they arrived and parked, Rosie and Teddy began to run off to different sections of the park before Beca hissed, calling after them.

"Wait for us! We don't need any more broken body parts!" Beca called as she stepped off the bus with Evie on her hip and the snack bag on her shoulder.

They settled at a small picnic table where the sun blazed down on them and Beca allowed herself to stretch out underneath it, letting the rays touch her face. It was then she realized she hadn't lathered the kids with sunscreen.

 _When did I turn into 'helicopter mom'? Beca wondered, better safe than sunburnt._

"Evie, momma's gonna spray you down now, okay?" Beca covered Evie's eyes before spinning her in a full circle in order to coat her evenly.

Beca had never imagined being a mom that made her kids PB and J for lunch or cooking dinner when Jesse came home, an apron on and a quick greeting kiss on her head. She would never be a sitcom mom, but she definitely enjoyed being someone's wife and doing nice things for him. She loved her kids but never believed that someone so tiny could make her feel so weak yet so strong. They broke down her walls, showing the softy that she really was, not the faux alt chick act. She knew she was never that, and the girls used to joke about how she seemed so scary, but was a softy at heart. She eventually just began playing along with a faux act, pretending she didn't like it when they hugged her, or said 'I love you' to each other.

She never imagined the gross sides of parenting like when Teddy lost his first tooth, and seeing that gummy and bloody smile both melted her and grossed her out. Or when she had to use a sucker to get boogers out of her kids. She definitely never imagined cleaning poop off the shower walls when Evie had gotten a little rambunctious one night. And she certainly never pictured sitting at the park, pestering her children over something easy as putting on sunscreen, but it wasn't a little thing.

She watched as Rosie came back and led Evie by the hand to the swings, asking Chloe to help her into it so that she could push her sister. Beca loved watching their sisterly bond form, one she feared wouldn't be at all. But every sisterly bond was different and Rosie loved her little sister, she didn't see a difference in her. She adored having a playmate and Beca was relieved that her fears of them not having a normal relationship appeased. To Rosie, Evie was just another little friend. Beca wished everyone could see the world through little Rosie's eyes.

Rosie looked up to her big brother too, and though they fought like a normal sibling would, at the end of the day, they were each other's best friends. And Beca hoped that never changed because she herself never had siblings until she found the Bella's, so she wanted it for her kids. Beca felt she had a whole army behind her, her Bella sisters helping her raise her littles.

She didn't believe in being her kid's best friends because it wasn't her job. It was her job to raise respectful, kind hearted members of society and discipline them when necessary. She believed trying to be their friend caused blurred boundaries and wanted them to see they could come to her for anything, that she loved them very much, but didn't want them to think being friends was an open door for disrespect to come in.

"Rosie, get down! Your arm hasn't fully healed yet!" Beca shouted at her, watching as she kicked off her flip flops and tried to climb the swing set pole with her one hand and feet.

Rosie ignored her, continuing to try and scale her way up until she felt a hand on her waist, trying to pull her down.

"Rosie, your mom said no, so you need to listen and come down." Chloe chastened her, but Rosie tried to cling tighter to it.

"No! Aunt Chloe, noooo!" She screeched, trying to tighten her grip.

Rosie pouted a little as Chloe loosened her fingers from the pole and helped her down. She tried to walk Rosie back to Beca as she stubbornly dug her heels into the ground so she didn't have to leave. She sat her butt on to the wood chips in the playground, and Beca saw the tantrum unfold. She wasn't about to deal with crabby kids today, or on vacation.

"Roselyn Elise! This is not how big girls behave! Stand up, right now!" Beca demands, lifting Rosie from the ground as she flailed her limbs in the air.

Beca put Rosie under her arm to point her angry limbs away from her face as Rosie's cheeks turned tomatored from the screaming. Luckily they were the only ones at the park, but that didn't stop the people on the sidewalks from glaring in their direction. Beca felt her face go flush in embarrassment as she tried to ignore the dirty stares, and set Rosie on the bench, grabbing her arms and pressing them into her lap as she looked her directly in her eyes.

"You will sit here until you can behave like a big girl. Then we will talk about why you're upset and how we can act better." Beca warns her before walking away.

Ignoring the continuous, low growl of hateful words being spit from the little girl's mouth, Beca tends to her other children, inviting them and everyone else over for a quick snack on the blankets. Beca's heart broke but she knew the words of the angry little girl were only out of temporary anger, and though she didn't like to be talked to that way, they were working on it, and the fit would pass.

"You're the meanest mommy in the whole world!" Rosie spat, and Beca's heart wrenched as the words stung.

"She doesn't mean it Beca," Chloe whispers, suddenly beside her. "She's just upset because she's not getting her way, and that's not okay." She added as if Beca hadn't had two other children.

"Just stand your ground, Shawshank. She'll get over it and be back to telling you she loves you in no time." Fat Amy jumped in, helping unpack the cooler to grab juice pouches and soggy ice cream sandwiches.

Beca wanted to turn around and say what her mom would have told her ungrateful self when she was four. She would have threatened to spank her, and if she still didn't listen, she would walk away, pretending she was leaving her. It usually worked and Beca would cry when she thought her mother wasn't coming back for her. It was cruel reverse psychology, but it worked. That, and when her dad threatened to turn the car back around when they were going somewhere Beca really wanted to.

"Momma, why's Rosie sad?" Teddy observed and Beca shook her head.

"Don't worry about her right now, Teddy. Worry about yourself and eat your sandwich." Beca commanded firmly and he nodded obediently.

Sometimes Beca wondered how she'd get through the day if she didn't have ten other supportive, strong willed women behind her. She was never alone, and though she still deep down wished to share the experience, the good and bad, with Jesse, she was grateful for these girls and their willingness to help. She never for a second took for granted the girls, and was thankful for them and their presence in her life.

They had been through everything together, and as hard as they tried to move on from the past, they always had that piece of Bella's in them, even in the new experiences. They went through a virus from the kids that wiped out their entire house, first birthdays, births, broken bones, heartbreaks and loss, and there was still so much more.

"How much longer do we have for a drive?" Beca stretched back onto the grass, looking at her phone for the time.

"About 45 minutes." Cynthia Rose informed her, and Beca groaned.

45 minutes was not enough time to get Evie in the car and calm. She couldn't give her Melatonin because it wasn't night, but she didn't want to listen to the heart wrenching screams of Evie, the attitude that Rosie had inherited from her, and though Teddy was a generally well behaved boy, Beca grew annoyed at his persistent 'Are we there' yets.

 _45 minutes aren't that long, we can do this._ Beca had to mentally remind herself.

45 short minutes that would lead to a week of relaxing fun on the beach, no chores, no worries, no…

"Momma!"

She suddenly heard a screech from Evie that interrupted her blissful thoughts and triggered her "mom mode". It was an agonizing sound, so powerful that it scared her, mostly because she couldn't believe that Evie had said it so clearly. But it was also said with fear, not demand, like she was looking for attention. Both Beca and Chloe hopped to their feet immediately, racing to her.

Evie flailed her right arm around, shaking it like she was trying to rid it of all the sand and dirt and wood chips that were stuck to its sweaty skin. But upon closer inspection they found that she was trying to release something _in_ her arm. A bee.

 _So much for the trip being about the journey and not the destination, because so far the journey has been full of roadblocks and detours. But theses are the memories we will hold on to forever, and laugh about. But Jesse will never get to share. I'm making new memories with the girls, not like our college times but now, in this new chapter of our lives._

Beca was so distracted by her own thoughts that she hadn't realized that the screaming had stopped. She was focused on running to her purse to retrieve the tweezers to pull the stinger out, and her thoughts had slowed her down. Chloe was sitting on the grass with Evie in her lap, and Fat Amy had grabbed an ice pack from the cooler.

"It's okay Love Bug," Chloe rocked her back and forth, kissing her on the side of her head as she brushed back her curly fly away's from her face.

"Amy, can you distract her while I pull it out?" Beca grows serious, trying to make it as painless as possible.

"Okay Punchkin, we're gonna make your arm feel better, okay?" Beca gently informed her before taking Evie's arm in her hand.

Evie sniffed and nodded, signing something to Beca though she wasn't sure what she was saying because she was focused on not moving or breaking it. She wanted to make it quick, and Evie clung to Chloe's hand with her other, her little fist tightened around some of her fingers since her hand was so tiny. She was a mini Beca for sure.

"Okay, lil' Shank, Aunt Amy's gonna sing a song." Amy begins, and Evie stares blankly into nowhere.

 __" _Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling; Do you feel my heart beating…"_ Fat Amy began.

"Really?" Beca snapped incredulously, looking up from Evie's arm. "She's two; Can we sing a nursery rhyme or anything else?"

 _Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay_

 _My, oh, my, what a wonderful day_

 _Plenty of sunshine headin' my way_

 _Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!_

By the time that Fat Amy had finished singing, and leading the others in a round of "Aunt Fat Amy had a farm", the bee stinger was out and Beca had rubbed cream on the wound, covering it with a bandaid with puppies on it. The song was entirely appropriate to fit the mood, and this one little thing wasn't gonna ruin the sunshine (literally and figuratively) headed their way.

Beca prayed that the rest of the trip would go smoothly, but after all, their normal was different than most families. For starters, the kids had ten "moms", and only so much hormones (and maxi pads, which Rosie found one day and had stuck to Aubrey's body while she was sleeping) they could handle.


	7. The First Rainfall

**The term "The Perfect Storm" means anything and everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. For Beca, losing Jesse was part of that deal. Now, I feel like this story is about the challenges that Beca navigates through with raising her children and having the Bella's live with them. There will be many up and downs, and as you learn more about Jesse's accident and life with the Bella's now, you'll understand why I decided that "The Perfect Storm" was a fitting title. Please enjoy and drop some suggestions and reviews to help me write more. Let me know what you want to see!**

* * *

 _Beca had feared that after Jesse had died that it automatically meant something could or would be wrong with her baby, and she wanted to do everything in her power to protect this unborn child. She couldn't let go of the fact that she could do everything right and still have a miscarriage, that it wasn't up to her, but she still spent her first twenty weeks following every pregnancy rule in the book._

 _But sometimes it was good to break the guidelines and trust her own instincts, and they were telling her that the only way she was going to relax was to get the amniocentesis and blood test. She did the blood test as soon as she could, and along with taking the blood test, was the benefit of knowing the gender. But she wasn't sure that she wanted to know, because would it really change anything? She was looking to see if the baby was healthy, and the amnio would tell her if it had a disability._

 _"How soon will we get to know whether the baby is a boy or girl?" Chloe anxiously asked the nurse as she hovered over Beca._

 _Beca sat in the chair beside the nurse's sink in the exam room, rolling up her sleeve and preparing for her blood to be taken. She hated getting it drawn, not because it hurt or scared her, but because she one time made the mistake of watching, and was disgusted at the sight. But after this being her third kid, she was a veteran and knew not to look, but it didn't keep her from holding Chloe's hand._

 _"We'll let you know within the next 48 hours. Is that okay with you, momma?" The nurse asked Beca, 'momma' as a sweet term of endearment that made Beca love her even more._

 _"It's my last baby Chlo. Don't you want it to be a surprise?" She contemplated and Chloe shook her head._

 _"If there is one thing in pregnancy you can be prepared for, it's knowing the gender so that we can go shopping." Chloe plead as if that was the most important thing._

 _Beca laughed, squeezing Chloe's hand before Chloe sat back down, trying to be supportive of Beca's decision to know or not to know._

 _"You're terrible at keeping secrets, so it's not like just we can find out. But if it's that important to you, we'll find out." Beca gave in, watching Chloe jump for joy._

 _Beca figured that Chloe would be eager to go shopping and prepare for this baby. Chloe had been the most excited but Beca took her time to warm up to the idea. Rosie had been just born a little over a year before, and pregnancy still felt relatively recent to her, the idea of giving birth terrifying. And she and Jesse had planned on having a garage sale to sell Rosie's things since they had figured she'd be their last, at least for awhile._

 _"Well hopefully it's a girl, so we can save money on girl things since Rosie is still so little." Beca prayed but Chloe shook her head._

 _"I just wanna hold that sweet little squishy lovebug! It doesn't matter to me, just as long as we can find out to go shopping and prepare! Please Beca, I promise I'll take care of her." Chloe begged, eyes wide and Beca only laughed._

 _"You'll take care of her?" Beca laughed. "You're aware this is a baby, not a dog, right?"_

 _"Beca, we're going to be here, whatever you need! I just wanna know what the gender is so I can be fully prepared." She informs her and Beca hugs her._

 _"Okay, Chloe. As long as you promise not to go over the top." She gives in before turning to the nurse. "Can you leave a voicemail when you know? I'll probably be at work."_

 _The nurse nods before giving Beca her ultrasound, and showing them the way out of the office. Beca loved her small little doctors' office, very friendly and run by a doctor as a small family clinic. It was very family orientated, they had lots of time to sit and discuss the pregnancy and answer Beca's questions to ease her nerves. She loved that they took the time to get to know the patients, and though she wasn't giving birth in their midwife suites, she wished she had known about the small family business practice earlier._

 _Two days later they had gotten the call and Chloe was pestering Beca as she listened to the voicemail, waiting to hear if the baby was okay, and (more importantly for the moment to Chloe) the gender._

 _"Well?" Chloe interrogated._

 _"It's a girl!" Beca smiled as she hung up the phone and Chloe squealed._

 _She quickly pulled Beca into a suffocatingly tight embrace, rocking her back and forth excitedly before Beca groaned._

 _"Boobs!" Beca snapped, pulling away._

 _"Oh, this is great! We can surprise the others with a gender reveal!" She mused aloud._

 _"I told you, we're not going over the top. This is my third and final pregnancy." Beca reminded her._

 _"And final being the key word! Live it up Beca! Let's have some fun this time since you didn't find out with Teddy and didn't have a reveal with Rosie."_

 _"Chloe, I hate gender reveal parties and all that over the top stuff! The baby is a girl, whoop-tee-doo! There was a fifty-fifty shot!" Beca dismissed._

 _"Beca! Let me do it! You didn't even have a baby shower with Teddy! We just brought gifts over and had some pizza. There weren't even an drinks."_

 _"It was a baby shower! Did you think Teddy was gonna come out wanting a liquor cabinet in his nursery instead of a changing table? I'm sure he was expecting booze when he came out of the womb." She answers sarcastically, amusing herself._

 _"Beca, that's not the point! You have five months before everything changes again! Don't you want some fun before you become too sleep deprived to function?"_

 _"Chloe, I kind of want to keep it a surprise from the other girls so they don't go behind my back and plan stuff I'm just not into! I love you guys and appreciate the thought, I really do, but I'm not a party kind of person! Those days belonged in college, before I was a mom. Now it's eight o'clock bedtime and five a.m. mornings."_

 _Chloe didn't fight it, but it wouldn't stop her from trying to plan, despite Beca's best efforts to keep things lying low for the next few months. Beca didn't want to share the gender, she wanted to keep the girls on their toes (and avoid the uncomfortable feeling of having to open up gifts and noisy toys that she would hide when she grew tired of sirens and giggly dolls)._

 _"Please Chloe, can't we just have a secret between us? It will be like a special thing, and I promise we'll go shopping! I just don't want the unnecessary gifts and doting from the other girls when they find out we're getting another Bella. At least not bombarded with girl things all at once. I want to enjoy this little secret that I'm having a girl before everyone else knows. I like to hang on to things, you know that."_

 _"Okay Becs. Whatever makes you happy." Chloe gave in, hugging her on the side._

* * *

 **-XXX-**

"We're here!" Cynthia Rose parks the bus in the parking lot of the hotel.

The beach sat right off of hotel grounds, close enough to see from their hotel rooms which faced the same way, and Beca anticipated lots of persistent begging to go! They had all week to do so, but knowing the kids, would want to go every chance they got. Well, until they found out everything on their agenda that weeks.

Evie had never been to the beach, but Beca was hesitant to take her because of her sensory issues, but there was no way to beat around that bush. She had brought lots of blankets for the sand, and even saw a pinterest where she could bring a fitted sheet, and create a makeshift barrier crib with lunch boxes in the corner to hold it up. Everything would be okay, at least that's what she kept telling herself. She had ten other adults on her side, it couldn't be that hard? That was the understatement of the year.

"Momma, look! The beach!" Rosie cooed, pointing in the direction.

"Hands on the circle please, until I get your suitcases out." Beca reminded her.

Beca always made the older kids put their hand on the gas tank lid by the car so she could keep track of them. She always worried that with their excited little bodies always moving that they would get kidnapped or hit by a car in the parking lot, thus enforcing the rule with Jesse. They never usually listened anyways, they were half her kid after all, but somehow always did to Jesse, because he would find a way to make everything into a game.

"Maaaa!" Evie screeched from the restraints of her carseat, begging to get out and go by her siblings sides.

"Can I have one second where someone isn't screaming at me for something?" Beca groans to herself and Chloe overhears her, laughing to herself.

"I've got her Becs. Why don't you go with Fat Amy and get checked in?"

Upon going inside, the lobby was generally quiet for being the middle of the week, causing the kids yelling to sound amplified ten fold. Their excited screams echoed off the walls so loudly Beca could barely hear herself think long enough to relay the information back to the desk lady.

"Rosie! Teddy! Inside voices please. Save the screams for the beach!"

Beca rubs her temples as the desk lady hands her their room keys, smiling sympathetically as she noted Beca's struggle. Beca offers an apologetic smile back and silently prayed that her kids would cooperate this week, or it wouldn't even be a vacation.

"Mom, can I swipe the key?" Teddy offered, but Rosie fought him for it.

"No, I'm momma's favorite. I can do it!" Rosie interjected and Beca rolled her eyes.

"Favorite? Last I check Blake Lively wasn't a four year old girl with her front tooth missing. We both know you're not momma's favorite." Teddy retorted.

Beca was impressed that Teddy gathered that she had an obsession with Blake and even more impressed that he had her sassy comebacks. She knew she shouldn't just sick back while her kids to talk to each other like that, but secretly she was glad her children were quick witted and strong willed, and sometimes let them figure it out between each other. At least, some of the time. It was a good to let them talk it out some of the time, at least until it came back to bite them all in the butt, especially Beca. They were siblings and had to learn to work things out without Beca intervening all the time.

"Guys!" Beca talked over their arguing, "We have all week. Rosie, Teddy asked first so you'll get to do it next time." She informed them, handing Teddy the room key card.

When Beca, the kids, and eventually Chloe and Evie got into the room, Beca put their things in the little hall closet and opened her suitcase on the bed. They had all day to head to the beach, and Beca wanted to unwind as soon as possible. The kids could get their energy out and maybe calm down in time for dinner. It was a good opportunity to stretch out their legs, and let Beca chill, though with her kids, there was never a moment she wanted to take her eyes off the kids.

"All right kiddos, get your suits on so we can go to the beach." Beca instructed.

Beca headed to the bathroom, hoping to quickly rinse off in the shower before heading their so she didn't feel so gross and sweaty. The air on the bus had been at least ninety percent fart, and she was covered with cheetos finger fingerprints from Evie.

When she had gotten out of the shower and pulled her bathing suit on, she had noted how quiet it had become. She grew suspicious until it quickly grew to fear upon hearing Rosie's mischievous giggle.

"Where's aunt Chloe and everyone else?" Beca flung open the bathroom door, finding her older daughter on the bed, Beca's suitcase beside her.

"With Teddy in the hall." Rosie stated plainly, pointing towards the door.

"And she left you alone?" Beca asked incredulously, hand on her clammy forehead.

Rosie nodded and Beca groaned, unable to believe that Chloe would leave a four year old by herself for a few minutes, even with the tv on.

"What about Evie? Where's she?" Beca asked worrisome.

More giggles, and her heart palpitated.

"Is Evie with Aunt Chloe?" She demanded to know, her pulse skyrocketing.

She swore she couldn't get any information out of her children. They were as secretive as her and she cursed herself for being a sassy child because now they were worse. It was karma.

Rosie smirked and shook her head, and Beca thought her head was about to fall off and her heart explode then and there. Her kids would be scrubbing her guts off the wall.

"Evie's hiding." Rosie informed her, patting the suitcase cover.

"Where's Evie hiding?" She grew concerned, though she had a general idea.

"Evie fun size momma!" Rosie exclaimed, giggling, and Beca flew to her side.

Beca's hand sprung towards the suitcase where Rosie was protecting it, and oved Rosie onto the floor, frantically unzipping it. There, Evie was curled into a ball, contently sucking her thumb until Beca pulled her out. She instantly wrapped her arms around Beca's neck and Beca held her, feeling fearful thoughts race through her mind as she kissed Evie on top of her head, brushing her sweaty hair.

"Rosie! She could have died in there!" Beca chastened her.

"But she didn't." Rosie boasted.

"That was a very naughty thing to do! Why would you put your sister in a suitcase?" Beca reprimanded, demanding to know what had been doing through Rosie's head. Was it jealousy or pure innocence.

"Aunt Chloe says they putted dogs in plane basements and they don't die." Rosie insisted.

Plane basements? Did she mean the pet carriers cargo planes, or the little compartments under planes for animals? Why was she even talking about that with her?

"Your sister isn't a pet! And planes aren't tiny, enclosed bags! Your sister could have gotten hurt!"

Beca couldn't believe she was having this conversation. Wasn't it common sense not to put someone in a suitcase? Apparently not when that someone was four. This was definitely worse than the time Teddy accidentally locked Rosie and the keys in their car. Rosie was just lucky her Aunt Aubrey wasn't there because that would have only worsened the 's reaction was tame by a long shot compared to what Aubrey's would have been.

"Relax momma!" Rosie nonchalantly and calmly insisted, and it infuriated Beca more.

"What do you say to Evie?" Beca commanded.

"I'm sorry you're too fat for the su'case, and I promise to put you in a bigger one next time."

Beca threw her hands up in the air with exasperation, wondering if days like this if it was worth picking the battle. A part of Beca wondered if she would be having and resolving these sorts of conversations with her kids for the rest of their little lives, and if she had ever given her mother this much grief. She groaned and mentally noted to call her parents and apologize later.

"Tell Evie your sorry. And mean it!"

"I'm sorry Evie." She relays.

"Good. When we get to the beach, you're gonna have to sit on time out on the towel for a little while until I decide you're ready to go play! That was a very silly thing to do Rosie."

"But I putted a frog in the su'case one time and he's fine."

"Rosie, you can't put people in the suitcases! Wait- frog?" Beca gasped in disgust

Rosie nods.

"In my suitcase?" Beca checks.

"No, Aunt Lily's." Rosie deadpanned and Beca sighs. "And Aunt Flo telled me that she come here in su'case too."

"Right." Beca drawls slowly. "Do me a favor Ro, and don't listen to Aunt Flo, okay?" Beca was at a loss for words.

Just before Beca had thought she was going to jump from the second floor window out of frustration, Chloe and Teddy entered the room hand in hand to find Beca on the end of her bed, head in her palms and Rosie hanging upside down from the chair in the corner.

"What happened in here?" Chloe asks.

"My kids are trying to kill me." Beca groaned.

"What made you think it was okay to leave my four year old alone?" Beca wanted to know.

"She was getting dressed on the bed and watching tv. I wasn't going to be gone long."

"Do me a favor and never have your own children." Beca smirked and Chloe nudged her.

"Alright guys! What do you say we walk down to the beach? Rosie, put your sandals back on!" Aubrey walks through the doorway, demanding control already.

Rosie slips on her strapped sandals with assistance from Fat Amy, and Cynthia Rose grabs Teddy's hand. Evie ran to Flo, excited because Flo always made the funniest faces and put Evie into an ultra hyper mood. Beca let it slide because it was really cute how much Evie looked up to Flo and giggled, and it seemed that Flo could only truly bring out a different side of Evie they didn't always get the treat of seeing.

Emily carried a beach chair and bag on her shoulders, looking as if they deemed her the "bat boy" of the beach adventure, having to carry all of their things, plus dragging the pop up wagon they always tagged along. She collapsed onto the sand once they got their, looking forward to a peaceful time, until Teddy and Rosie had grabbed for her hands.

The older two loved Emily, and Beca had always been so close with Emily (in a little sister type way, not like her close friendship with Chloe), like a little sister, where even the kids believed they were blood related. Not that they looked at the other girls any differently either. Family was family to kids, they understood that with no question.

"Em, come see! Come splash with me!" Rosie begged, dragging Emily before she had a chance to kick off her shoes.

Beca laughed as she lathered Teddy with sunscreen, knowing in a few minutes he would be caked with sand. Teddy had never been the type of kid that liked to ride the waves or get wet sand on his feet. He loved building things, especially castles, and him and aunt Aubrey would build the biggest, because everything was a competition for Aubrey, and Teddy seemed to inherit that competitiveness too.

"Momma!" Evie called, a mouth full of goldfish, and more in her chubby fist.

"Evie, wait for one of us to go with you." Beca grabbed her arm, yanking her back and shaking the crackers from her grimy hands.

"We've got her Becs." Stacie called, already catching rays on her towel. "C'mere Punchkin."

Stacie had a fan that misted water that Evie loved to run around with, sprayed everyone in the face. One time, on April fools day, Amy had filled the bottle with a water-vinegar/ and onion chunk mix for Evie and let her run amok. Beca was furious because for months after, the curtains (and some of the furniture) smelled strongly of onion. It was a strong scent that made their eyes water for weeks, despite their best efforts to air out the house with open windows.

"Isn't it nice to have ten other adults watching your kids so you can catch a tan?" Chloe remarked and Beca smirked.

"You couldn't catch a tan if you were lying on the surface of the sun." Beca playfully retorted, knowing how easily Chloe burnt.

They lay there for a good hour, the kids screams slowly fading as Beca drifted off, before jolting just as she about hit sleep. Beca realized that the last time she left the girls with the kids, one had broken her arm. Also, could she really relax when her kids were having a good time?

She wanted pictures and memories to hold onto and frame, so that when she looked back she didn't remember the temporary tan she got, but all the smiles and giggles. She also didn't want too many pictures (though she thought there could never be enough) because she wanted the memories engraved fresh in her mind as they actually happened, not through a small frame.

"Smile Rosie Posie!" She exclaimed as she pulled out her phone.

"That is such a white family things." Cynthia Rose noted as she lifted her sunglasses and sat up, watching them swing the kids into the water.

She snapped a pic of Emily and Jessica each holding one of Rosie's arms, swinging her forward into the waves as they crashed at their feet. Rosie giggled loudly as she begged for more, and when Evie saw what was happening, ran over too. Ashley and Stacie and Fat Amy all joined, lining up and grabbing the little girls' arms and swinging them into the water. She smiled as the adorable group pic saved instantly to her phone, something she had to frame. The sun was perfectly shining on them, and they all had smiles, which was rare for Beca to capture everyone looking.

"Teddy, what are you guys building?" Beca curiously glances over where he and Aubrey were building.

"We want to make a giant dungeon!" He exclaims proudly, though Aubrey sulked as her own castle got sucked up into the waves.

"Smile!" Beca enthused, as she grimaced inside, never seeing herself as the "momma-ratzi", but she loved taking pics.

"One…" She heard Stacie count.

"Two!" Amy joined.

"Three!" Rosie cheered as they swung her.

Beca laughed, cracking a smiled at the sight until suddenly she saw Evie go flying, instantly sucked under the waves. Had she let go or did they drop her? She didn't care but sprung into action, running as if she didn't already have four other adults beside her.

Evie bawled and coughed as they pulled her up, searching for her mom with her eyes full of sand. She couldn't see Beca, but felt her warmth as her mother snatched her up, encompassing her in the warmth of her towel. Stacie patted her back until she stopped coughing, and used the corners of Beca's towel to dry her face and eyes. Evie was screaming as she looked into the water with distrust, wanting to walk away.

"It's okay baby." Beca soothed as she brought her back to the towel.

Evie's curly hair stuck in her face and Beca sat her on the towel on her lap, trying to dry her off with another clean towel. Chloe offered her some snacks so Beca could calm her down and get her dry, and the girls exchanged heart broken looks.

"We're so sorry Beca!" Stacie apologized, followed by nods from Jessica and Ashley.

"One time, when I was entering the country for third time, I was pushed overboard at sea, and I had to swim with the sharks." Flo added and their eyes grew.

"See, I knew we should have brought the life jackets and the floaties for extra protection!" Aubrey gave them the "I told you so" look.

Eventually the crying died down and everyone grew tired from the hot sun, and they all anonymously without a word, concluded it was time to go eat dinner, heading back to the hotel lobby and into their rooms to change for the restaurant.

"When we get back inside, we'll take turns showering, okay?" Beca informed them as they walked down the hall.

As Beca rummaged through her bag for the key card, she heard a manly voice approach her children, assuming it was one of the housekeepers or janitors. She smiled politely as he acknowledged them, but prayed more than anything for him to go away because she was tired and didn't feel like conversing. She looked to Chloe and Chloe pulled the kids closer to her side protectively, like the 'momma bear' she was.

"Hey little ones. I'm Grandpa Fred, what's your names?" The elderly man asked, and Beca noted that he had to be in his mid-seventies, but nonetheless made her feel uneasy and sending weird vibes.

"I'm Rosie and I'm four!" Rosie naturally replied, letting go of Chloe's hand.

She definitely had Jesse's social skills and love for conversation and people, and it scared Beca that she didn't know when to be cautious, though sometimes Beca was too guarded. It didn't matter, she would rather have Rosie too guarded than openly talking to strangers.

She wanted them to be friendly but safe, but at this age, Rosie would probably climb into the car with him if he said as much as "hello". Rosie loved being close in people's faces, Beca figured that out when Rosie's hot breath woke her up almost every morning since she could crawl out of her crib.

Chloe put an arm around Rosie again, protectively pulling her back into her body.

"Well Rosie, how would you and your siblings like some candy?" He asked and Beca's heart dropped despite her maintained blase expression.

"Um, no thank you!" Beca interjected before the kids could answer.

Beca handed her keycard to Fat Amy who began to slide it in the door, taking Evie and trying to take the others too but the older two were distracted to go inside. They stood awkwardly in the doorway, Fat Amy recalling her favorite nunchuck skills just in case, not caring if it was an overreaction.

"Well, my grandkids and I just got back from the arcade, and I've gotta get rid of it before their grandmother knows." He chuckles.

"Momma, can we go to the arcade with the sometime?" Teddy asked, and Beca sighed frustrated. Where was her kids sense of danger and weirdness?

"Not today." She deterred, hoping not to see them again.

Beca felt a little better when she noted the little boys standing behind the old man, but still declined his offer. He slipped some wrapped bubble gum and chocolates in their fists anyways, winking before bidding them goodbye.

"That was so weird." Chloe whispered, even though he was out of site and the others nodded. Florida was turning out to be weirder than she had initially thought.

"Alright," Beca turned to her kids, "Gimme." She opened her palms expectantly to her kids dismay.

"Mom! He was just a grandpa." Teddy plead.

"What did I say about taking candy from strangers?" She lectured.

"Only on Halloween?" Rosie answers.

"Well, okay. But any other day."

"Don't take candy from strangers." Teddy obediently answers.

"Good, now give me." She opens her palm expectantly again, and Teddy drops his pieces in it.

"But mommy, he was just an old man." Teddy reasons again, pouting slightly.

"It doesn't matter. They could be poisonous."

"With what?" Rosie challenged.

"Drugs. What do you guys do when I drop you off at school? Did they teach you anything about ' _Stranger Danger_ '?" Beca asks in discontent.

"Dylan and I compare boogers at our table group during reading." Teddy answers and Beca scrunches her face in disgust.

"Gross Teddy, stop that!" She snaps and he shrugs. "What have we taught you about strangers, candy, and drugs?" She checks.

"Don't take candy." Rosie replies.

"Good girl." Beca pats her on the head with some peace of mind at her street smarts.

Beca looked to Teddy, furrowing her brows in question for him.

"What about you, Bud?" She checked again. "What do you know?"

"Don't take drugs unless they're free." Teddy recites and Beca goes pale.

"No!" She exclaimed correctively. "Who taught you to say that?" She asked as if she didn't already have a wild guess.

Fat Amy grinned amused, trying to stifle her laugh as Aubrey slapped her arm in horror.

"Don't ever take advice from aunt Amy, got it?" Beca demanded, waiting for them to nod before escorting them inside the room. These kids felt impossible.

At that point Beca was exhausted and wanted to forgo showering. She instead decided that they all could take off their wetsuits and put on pajamas to go to dinner because it was only a buffet after all, not anything fancy. They would save all the shower stuff for later. Just as they were about to enter the room, Beca heard Rosie's questioning little voice.

"Momma?"

"Yeah babe?" She answered, half listening.

"How come Evie gets to eat the candy?" She inferred and Beca snaps her head around in horror, glancing at Evie who had been pretty quite. Why hadn't Beca paid closer attention?

Beca nearly passes out when she notices Evie had some in her mouth, and lunged towards her, prying her mouth open to fish out the mints. She couldn't believe that in the six hours they had been there, that so much had already happened. It was shaping up to be quite a trip, one she knew that if she didn't have the girls, would never take herself.

"You guys are unbelievable!" She throws her head back in defeat.

She was being challenged and her patience as a mother tested when she had spent the day soothing her child that had been zipped in a suitcase and sucked under the waves, and also tending to her other children that acted like they didn't know a darn thing about stranger danger and drugs. Beca could only imagine what their teenage years were like.

"What a day I am having." She groaned as she flopped back on her hotel bed, listening to her kids chatter to themselves as they got ready for dinner. "I'm a horrible mother."


	8. Journey over Destination

**Chapter 8**

When the girls had settled down for the day in each of their hotel rooms, (After Rosie had accidentally ordered room service while Beca was getting Evie into the bath, and lord only knows where Chloe was at the moment, but thank goodness they were sharing a room because she couldn't do it on her own) the kids had popped a movie into Beca's laptop and gathered around the small screen. Beca was exhausted after the half day that they had been there and couldn't wait for the last kid to start crashing.

"Teddy, stop jumping on the bed!" She snatched his arm and yanked him back under the covers as Rosie quickly sat down, seeing the frustration on her mother's face.

"Stop! You're gonna break it!" Rosie exclaimed at she reached to protect the laptop from Teddy's jumps before Beca just took it away and decided then and there that they were going to bed whether they wanted to or not.

"Maaaa!" Evie screamed, begging to sleep with her as she clung to Beca.

Evie had wrestled Beca to get into her pajamas because she couldn't sleep in long sleeves or collared tops and didn't want the short sleeved, loose fitting nightgown that Beca had packed, even though Evie had begged for it, since it had her favorite show " _Paw Patrol"_ on it. Though Beca was annoyingly sure it was every kids favorite shirt since she had to fight for it while Black Friday shopping with Amy, Aubrey, Stacie, and Chloe.

Her kids were going to put her in a freaking hospital before this vacation was over, though she wasn't sure if it would be a psychiatric or actual hospital from the heart attacks they gave her daily. Not to mention bedtime was also an Olympic event in her house that she struggled to compete in.

Beca knew it didn't matter how they split the two beds between them, she would still end up with three sets of feet and hot breath in her face by dawn. She thought that if Chloe shared a bed with the Evie that maybe the other two could be with her, or however they'd want to split it. But it was three kids against them, and no matter how it was split they wouldn't catch much sleep. So Beca and Chloe shared a bed and fit the three smaller kids "comfortably" (She used loosely because there was a lot of complaining)

"Maaa! Teddy's ribs is poking me!" Rosie shifted angrily under the covers.

"It's called _breathing,_ Rosie!" Teddy retorted.

"Enough! Or neither of you will be breathing!" Beca interjected between them.

Beca pulled the covers up and tucked them in, snapping off the lamp beside them as she kicked off her shoes in order to hop in her own bed.

"You know the couch pulls out into a bed, right?" Chloe smirks amusingly and Beca sighs, rolling back off the bed.

"Well, of course it does." She growled, long over the vacation even though it had just begun.

With Chloe's assistance Beca pulled the bed out of the couch, grimacing at the faded material that had looked like its fibers had begun to be gnawed by rats and other pests. This hotel room wasn't the nicest, but it was what they had agreed on in order to save some money for other things.

From the outside you wouldn't guess that the room's carpets were beginning to strip back, and the locks on the doors looked like they had been chipped away at. The hotel overall was pretty okay, but it was a place to stay, and it was sure close to all the attractions they'd want to see. So what if they upkept the lobby better that the rooms, it sure could've fooled Beca into believing this place wasn't filled with screaming children at breakfast or creepy old men with candy.

"This vacation had been something for the books already." Beca scooted across her bed, flicking off the lamp.

"It'll get better Becs. It's the adventures and mishaps that we went on to get here that'll be priceless and will remember mostly anyways." Chloe reassures her before hugging her good night and trekking back to the couch helplessly in the dark.

Chloe sure was corny, but she was right. These memories of Rosie putting Evie in the suitcase (though not really funny at first) and all the other unplanned adventures on the vacation will definitely be more fun to laugh at in the future. It didn't matter how many pictures she took, she would rather remember them as a picture in her mind than through a lens other than her eyes.

" _Hopefully tomorrow will be less chaotic_." She prays, knowing darn well they didn't need a vacation for her family to have mishaps and adventures.

Her life was crazy anyways and couldn't be planned as much as she wanted to. She had to learn to let go and enjoy the little things because though her kids caused her to want to pull out her hair most days, she was thankful because she had her family there to help keep her from jumping off the edge most days. And for that, she was thankful for the Bella's coming into her life in such an unexpectedly expected way, despite the circumstances.

Beca heard footsteps around the room, assuming that one of her children were up to go to the bathroom, but before she could say anything, Chloe suddenly slips in the bed and yanks on the lampshade beside her bed.

' _Man, did this room have a lot of lights for a few beds.'_ Beca thought as she groaned, rubbing her eyes and glaring at Chloe who had sat up, smiling at Beca.

"Chloe, are you serious? I thought you were sleeping on the couch." She whispered furiously, shuffling around in confusion.

"I got scared." She feigned a sad face and Beca shook her head in disbelief. Chloe wanted any excuse to stay up and gossip like a middle school girl at a sleepover.

"Go back to bed. It's late." She grumbled as if Chloe were one of her kids, not meaning to sound so heartless.

"But Beca, I can't sleep." She whined like a child.

Beca reached over her to yank off the light as Chloe shuffled around, curling up behind Beca with her knees pressed into Beca's back. Beca swore she could feel her creepily large and beady eyed grin looking at her, even in the dark with Beca's back turned to her. Her blue eyes were like a night light in the dark. Chloe was like a brain, she couldn't see it, but she (hoped) it was there (in Chloe's case).

"My head feels too full to sleep." Chloe adds cutely.

"That's called thinking." Beca retorts lightheartedly. "What is it Chloe? Are you okay?" She then grows seriously concerned as she sits up.

"You know, six years ago, I would have said that my biggest regret would have been to never have children, especially since you were pregnant and I always imagined that I'd have three or so kids that would grow up with yours. But now, that feeling is gone and instead my heart is overwhelmed with loving content. These are my kids too Beca, you guys are my family. And I wouldn't want it any other way."

" _Dang it, how does she always do this?!"_ Beca thought, feeling her cold, dead heart melt at Chloe's over the top cheesy, love.

"My priorities have changed. You guys are what's most important to me."

"I feel the same way Chlo," Beca smiles, and felt like they were in a movie at twelve years old, confessing their feelings to each other at a sleepover.

She felt the annoyance of being kept up melt away because she knew that if she was having deep thoughts, Chloe would listen tentatively, with that soft look in her eyes of reassured that everything would be okay. She too was a voice of reason when she wasn't so worried or having a meltdown.

But she'd be lying if she had said she and the others didn't adore the way that Chloe looked at everything, even if she worried a lot because she was also so overwhelmingly bubbly and sometimes a little ditzy.

"They, the kids, adore you guys, especially you Chlo. You're their role models! They look up to you and love you! Even I know it would be crazy not to have you guys as a part of our family because, well, it used to be so hard for me to admit…." Beca begins before Chloe cuts in.

"You don't have to say it. We already know." Chloe cuts her off reassuringly, grabbing her hand.

"But, I love you guys, so so much."

She feels a set of arms wrap around her neck and hug her, pulling her into her warm embrace. Beca felt safe, she knew they would all be okay, and even if the vacation hit the fan like a pile of poop, it wouldn't matter because they were there making memories. They were sisters, and that would never change.

' _I sound so queerballs right now.'_ Beca laughed to herself but she didn't care.

Family always brought out her crazy side (sometimes her angry, bat "you-know-What" crazy) because they knew it was best to be smiling and making memories.

After a few minutes the silence had been filled with the sound of three little bodies shuffling around in the bed over and Chloe had fallen asleep sprawled out, deeply snoring. Beca grabbed her blankets and went to the couch by herself where she could sprawl out.

She knew that the kids would wake and automatically assume Beca was in the bed, not Chloe, so it would be quite a surprise when Chloe actually woke with three pairs of feet in her face instead of Beca. It would be a nice change and Beca told herself she deserved a night off to shut off the mommy guilt she felt.

 **-XXX-**

"Good morning Chloe, Shawshank, and the Little Rascals!" Fat Amy bursts through their hotel room door and climbs over Chloe to yank open the curtains.

"How'd you get in without a key?!" Beca exclaims as she rubs the sleep from her eyes, Amy ignoring her request for information.

Fat Amy bends over the bed to gather the three little busy bodies in the bed in her large arms, embracing them all lovingly as if she hadn't seen them for eight weeks, not hours. Amy flashed the extra key card she had pulled out of her pocket at Beca smugly, showing that she couldn't do anything about it. Rosie hadn't hidden it. So, that's where her other key went...

"There's a mini kids karaoke on the boardwalk this morning and I thought we could take the kids!"

"Fat Amy, you're too old for the competition." Beca jokes and Amy rolls her eyes.

"Get your shoes on kiddos! Aunt Amy has some fun plans today!" Amy enthuses, digging through the suitcases and tossing them their clothes.

The kids threw the covers over their faces at the sight of blinding sunlight hitting in their faces through the large patio that led out to the porch of their room. It was a total 'Beca Mitchell' move, and she smiled at the way her kids hated to be woken up. It was like payback from all the times they woke her up unwittingly, hot morning breath in her face. But since when hadn't they been morning people?

Beca loved Amy, there was no doubt in her mind. But sometimes her antics and rash decisions to do crazy things scared her. Especially if her kids were as impulsive as Amy one day. Beca's kids were all ready headed towards their teenage years with Beca's attitude in their back pockets, and she was worried for that. She didn't need Amy telling them that 'only doing drugs when they're free', and 'No cop, no stop' was okay. Lord help her in their teenage years. Rosie was already acting too big for her britches.

"No! We have an itinerary! We've gotta follow the activities as listed!" Aubrey insisted, suddenly behind her.

Before she knew it, everyone would file in, creating a loud ambiance of talking over or to each other in the small room. It was noisy, but it was the normal for their family. Sometimes they talked at but not to each other, or whispering to each other sly or sneer remarks. They were either arguing, agreeing, or neutral. Chloe would try to mediate but become stressed because sometimes they didn't take her seriously.

When the others finally followed in as expected, filing through the door uninvited (they had an open door policy at the house, though she wasn't sure she meant it quite like that), Beca was convinced that they banded together like an army. When one came, no one was left behind, it was the 'Aubrey Posen' method. It was the Bella's way, it was for life.

"What, is this our freshman year setlist? Aubrey, we're not following your plan, I'm sorry." Beca smiles amused, knowing that sometimes Audrey would get caught in her old ways.

"Well I'm sorry guys, but I'm going to the floating bar at the pool." Stacie informs them.

"She's gonna be wasted by noon." Cynthia-Rose whispered with concern to Chloe who nodded.

"Or married to a random guy in a Vegas style wedding." Chloe agrees.

"She's probably already eight minutes pregnant." Fat Amy sneers sarcastically .

"Is everyone in our room now or should I wait to start the meeting?" Beca wondered aloud sarcastically, no longer half asleep.

Even on vacation they couldn't sleep in or get privacy because there was never a dull moment with three kids and eleven _[pending]_ adults. Sometimes Beca felt like Mary freakin' Poppins, and other days she felt like the Wicked Witch of the West, depending on her mood and tolerance. But she had gotten used to of the crazy, it was their normal and she couldn't and didn't expect anything else.

"Hey!" Beca consigns, clapping for their attention. "Can I at least put a bra on before we talk about doing anything?" She asks incredulously.

"Hahaha! Mommy's boobies is saggy." Rosie giggles facetiously and Beca groans, throwing her pillow over her head. Did she need to remind them _who or which someone_ did that to her body?

"Beca's right; We should all get dressed and have some breakfast before we do anything." Emily interjects to Beca's defense.

Thank goodness for Legacy with a good head on her shoulders. She could be a mostly overly enthusiastic, voice of reason. And thought Beca swore Emily only shot rainbows out of her rear-end every time she spoke, (and it antagonized Amy at times, but she still loved her like a little sister) Beca was thankful that at least one of them had a good head on their shoulders since they all couldn't seem to keep it together at the same time.

"Are we going to eat somewhere together?" Emily inquires.

"Well _duh_ , of course. We're family. But if we all want to do different things later, we'll split up and assign groups. But we should all try to do what each other wants to do." Chloe proposed.

"If we split up, who's gonna chaperone Stacie at the floating minibar?" Fat Amy asked in concern.

"I've watched guard for some of my family and other friends crossing the border, so basically, I'm qualified." Flo confabulated justifyingly.

"Okay, so Flo will head out with Stacie after breakfast." Aubrey concluded, checking off something in her planner and Beca rolled her eyes.

They were watching as Lilly snatched it out of her hands and ate the piece of paper with the writing on it, and laughed as Aubrey shrieked, convinced that Aubrey might as well start giving Lily the heimlich to get her precious list back. Aubrey seemed like she would stress vomit then and there (even though they thought she had long outgrown it) and ruin the whole atmosphere of fun and teasing that defined their Bella's sisterhood relationship.

"You guys, I don't need a chaperone; We should worry about who is watching the kids." Stacie disobliged.

"You _are_ one of the kids." Fat Amy retorted.

"Am not! I'm going to the minibar and _legally_ drinking, but the kids can come with me."

"I wanna drink!" Teddy excites and Beca and everyone simultaneously shout, 'no'.

"Stacie! No! Children can't have alcohol." Fat Amy primed a disgruntled and ignorant Stacie.

"I had alcohol as a kid once and I turned out fine." Lilly whispered and Beca just about lost it as her point was proven.

"Okay, Stacie's not taking our children with her to drink or pick up boys. In fact, maybe you shouldn't go, Stace." Beca interjected suggestively.

Sometimes Beca felt like she had more than the three children she had given birth to ( _cough, cough,_ _Stacie_ ) and she wondered how with ten other adults in the house that her kids could get away with anything. But then again, Stacie and Fat Amy could be childish themselves and though she admired that they had a child like wonder, she didn't appreciate that sometimes she and the other girls had to watch over the two ladies like they were six and four years old too.

Was it really this hard to plan an activity? Yes, when there were eleven adults who couldn't agree on anything, and three eager kids who wanted to do everything. They only had five days to do it all, and on the last day they were booked with a special surprise. Beca felt like she had to referee every argument between her kids already, so she (or any of the Bella's) shouldn't have to mediate between adults.

"I think we should all just go to breakfast, enjoy a meal together, and then go from there." Jessica suggests and Emily agrees enthusiastically.

"Yeah, does it really matter when we're here all together and the main thing is to have fun, right?" Emily enthused.

"Oh. My. Gosh, Legacy…" Amy began and Aubrey pulled her back defensively.

Amy turned to Jessica, annoyance still engraved in her face, all fired up from all the arguing. Beca and the others already had to remind her children to use kind words, but a grown adult like Fat Amy?

"And hush up Jessica! Or are you Ashley? Wait, are you even really apart of this group?" snapped and Beca jumped out of bed before it all hit the fan.

"We don't have voice in this group, I don't know why you bothered." Ashley chastens Jessica, who had backed off.

"Enough!" Beca was tiresome of all the arguing on what was supposed to be their vacation.

"Alright! Everyone out! We'll meet at the continental breakfast in the hotel lobby in half an hour. If we're gonna agree on one thing, it's that all we're going to suck it up and eat garbage hotel breakfast they provide so we don't have to argue about anything else."

Beca shoved them out the door and slammed it behind them, quickly turning and sliding her back down the door, hand on her forehead. She loved the Bella's, she really appreciated them, but sometimes they were like school children and if it wasn't for Chloe undoubtedly on her side most of the time, there would be no order.

"Are you alright Becs?" Chloe asked with concern in her eyes.

"They're exhausting." Beca sighed, as Chloe proceeded to get Evie dressed.

 **-XXX-**

 _When Beca and Jesse had just married two years out of college, Jesse had thought she'd known everything about him, and vice versa, at the same time he believed marriage was an adventure and team building exercises to help know your spouse more, now that married life was entirely different than dating. They were a team now, and whatever God threw at them they thought they could take. Until Beca had gotten pregnant with Teddy._

 _He did everything he could imagine to make his moody wife comfortable, and even though her mood swings were few and far between, he would bear with her, because it was for life. He would sit with her in the nursery, looking through countless parenting and name books, or when she was feeling sentimentally dissonant compared to her 'tough shell', he would flip through baby books and bins to relieve the good memories of her childhood._

" _Look Jess-" She handed him a bracelet and photo, "This was from my first hospital visit. My parents had just announced they were getting divorced and I had my dad wrapped around my finger for a little while."_

" _This is a good memory?" He was confused as she smiled._

" _Well, it was before I started becoming distant and angry. I thought that this hospital visit was what was going to band them back together, so I totally played up my sickness." She laughed incredulously at her sassy behavior._

" _We all see how that turned out." Jesse smirked and Beca jokingly backhanded his chest._

 _Beca had convinced Jesse to bring the bin of memories upstairs from the garage and was sitting cross-legged on the carpet of their bedroom. She gestured for Jesse to push the bin closer so that she could tump it over for them to explore. After a few minutes of silence, Jesse breaks the ice again._

" _What's this?" He asks as he hand her a grainy, out of focus, photo._

" _It was our families first trip to Florida; It wasn't perfect, but the memories and mishaps are what made it fun. I'd never admit it to my parents, but I love holding onto these memories."_

" _Or maybe it's the hormones." Jesse adds and Beca laughs._

" _You're stupid." She sticks her tongue out at him. "I really hope though that you and I can bring this baby there someday. He or she will love it when they are old enough to appreciate it." Beca sets her hand on her eight months stomach contently._

 _Beca couldn't believe that she was sitting there, an emotional wreck, openly crying to her husband as they sorted through the memories. Beca wasn't the openly sentimental type, nor did she ever believe that her senior year of college she would be very pregnant, preparing for the USO's competition in four short months. Old Beca was very reserved, and would be disgusted at the cornball she turned out to be._

" _When I was a kid, I had my own garage band." Jesse laughed as he observed a picture of Beca at a piano, wondering when her love of music had started and was pleased to see that it was probably at a young age._

" _No way! Your thing is movies. Didn't your grandpa watch them with you all the time?"_

" _Yeah, but when I was in high school I saw 'School of Rock' and thought that it might be a good back up plan if I couldn't score movies. It was really a past time with me and some of my friends."_

" _You mean, you and a couple of nerds created a band? How do you go from a band to acapella. Seems like a downgrade."_

 _Beca teased him but a twisted part of her was actually dying to know what the name of his band was. "Probably something to do with the 'Breakfast Club'." she sneered._

" _Well, imagine if it did work out. I'd be touring the country and all the girls would be shouting "Jesse, Jesse, Jesse.", but nothing else would matter because you'd be a head over heels fangirl with all my merch and I'd fall in love with you at a concert and spot you out of everyone in the crowd. And after I noticed your piercing blue eyes from afar, I'd pull you onto stage to sing you a ballad, and you'd love every second of it." He teased and Beca rolled her eyes heavenwards._

" _You're an idiot." She deadpanned, amused by his expositional fantasy._

" _You know it's true. We'd be together, whether it was at a concert or not. It's inevitable. God knew what he was doing."_

 _"Does any of that sound like me, you sexist pig." She pushes back._

 _Beca leaned over her stomach and reached back in the bin, gathering her things in order to clean up. She loved these talks and knew everything he shamelessly said was true. And she was excited for her child to get to grow up with a daddy that supported them and their own crazy ideas (which she was sure they would inherit from their father) that they would pursue. But they would also be half Beca and be deadset and stubborn about it. They were in for a ride as parents._

" _Should we go watch Breakfast Club and eat some trail mix?" He conjectured, helping her off the floor._

" _I'm allergic to nuts." Beca looked at him incredulously and he smiled at her amusingly._

" _So I can tell you I was in a band in high school, but you couldn't bother to mention this allergy to me- I don't know, when we first started dating and I brought it over for movie night?" He laughed._

 _Though her allergy wasn't as bad as others (like her cousin who couldn't be in the same room as the peanuts), she carried an epi pen to help in case of an emergency that she couldn't breathe from touching one accidentally on her floor or something. She could be in the same room as the nut products, but if she ate them, or touched an area not properly sanitized, she could have an allergic reaction. How could Jesse forget such a detail?_

" _I did. And you still brought it over the next time for a road trip, so I tossed the bag out the window on the freeway." She informed him and his face softened._

" _How could I forget?" He laughed, pulling her in and kissing the side of her forehead._

" _Because at least ninety percent of your brain is "Breakfast Club" quotes, so there's not much room for any other information." She teased back._

 **-XXX-**

Beca and most of the girls had all gathered back at the hotel pool in the evening at the sun had long set and the kids settled down. They weren't supposed to have alcohol in the indoor pool area but they had snuck it in in their coolers and kids backpacks (as twisted as that sounded) and Stacie had even tucked her bottle into a tortilla shell, since she left her hairbrush flask at home. Fat Amy was due back with Rosie, who had gone to an arts and crafts event for the children in the lobby.

Teddy didn't want to go, he'd rather wanted to go swimming, and Evie had been clingy all day. She hadn't left Beca's side and cried when Beca wanted to go to the bathroom. Chloe sat with Evie flailing in her arms, trying to calm her down by rocking her and singing, but nothing but the touch and embrace of her mother could soothe her.

"It's okay Luvey, momma's gonna be back soon." Chloe reassured her quietly, but Evie screamed loudly.

Teddy wore arm floaties and jumped off the edge and into the pool repeatedly, trying to make the biggest splash he could. He made it his life goal ("shoot for the stars, son," Beca would sarcastically tell him) to beat Fat Amy at a cannonball contest, and was practicing with Jessica and Ashley. Cynthia Rose had a book, Stacie had her liquor, and they all had the pool to themselves.

When Beca had finally come back from the bathroom, Rosie and Fat Amy had greeted her as they entered the pool area at the same time. Rosie was carrying a plastic sandwich sized baggy that was half-zipped properly, milk swishing out of the side.

"Momma, look!" Rosie ran to her side as Beca sat in a pool chair, gathering Evie back in her arms and she quieted instantly.

"What is it?" Beca asked faintly as Rosie handed it to her.

"Try it!" She exclaims and Beca felt weak and stared at it with disgust.

"It's some party mix they were making, but Rosie wanted it to be like cereal, so we put some milk in it." Fat Amy tried to reassure her, but it didn't help lessen Beca's aversion.

"Sure…." Beca drawled slowly, feigning an enthusiastic smile as she glanced at it from outside the bag.

' _I deserve parent of the freakin' year!'_ Beca thought bitterly to herself before opening the bag all the way and taking the plastic spoon from Rosie's grimy little hands.

"You too, Auntie Chloe…" Rosie informs her.

"No thanks, Sweetie. I just ate and I'm soooo full." Chloe lies in order not to hurt her feelings.

"No way; If I've gotta try this and become poisoned, so do you. It's for life, dude." Beca shoves the bag to Chloe so she can try some.

Beca chews it slowly, trying not to gag and hurt her daughter's feelings, not that she was afraid to voice how she felt. But the little glow in Rosie's eager blue eyes to know how Beca liked it pained her and she couldn't tell her otherwise.

"Mmmph… What's in this, Rosie?" She stifles a choke before she attempts to swallow.

She chewed through it before dipping the spoon back in the bag for another bite, watching Rosie's face and nearly spilling from not paying attention. She wanted to make sure Rosie thought she loved it.

"Um…" Her little voice thought aloud, "We putted M&M's, popcorn, coco chips, chex mix, and um…"

"Peanuts!" Beca gaps as she bites into one, spitting it out and feeling her heart burst from her chest in panic. _Oh, the irony in her earlier statements about being poisoned._

"Yeah, I thinked the lady says it trail mix..." Rosie muses, and Beca gasps again, feeling the hives form on her face as her hands fly instinctively to her face.

The Bellas look to each other with panic on their faces and Chloe begins to have a meltdown before being hit with the realization that it was lit the time, but she needed to stay calm. Beca could only have minutes before her throat closed off and she would pass out or potentially,

" _No, don't say it Chloe, stay positive." She reminds herself._

"Amy, you told her it was chex mix!" Chloe slaps her arm, reflexively grabbing for Evie and setting her in her place on the chair before tending to Beca.

"It was 'Party Mix', and I didn't know she grabbed some of the nuts and put them in. I could've sworn the bowl was moved down the table."

"Who puts chex or trail mix in a bag with milk anyways?!" Aubrey asks angrily, helping Beca alongside Chloe and rushing her out.

"Do you have your Epipen?" Aubrey checks and Beca frantically nods.

She always kept one in her minivan, in her glove compartment and- wait...

Beca shook her head frantically, realizing that she had forgot to pull it out of the minivan before they left. But what about the one in her purse? Nope, even as a mother she was still her college self and she hadn't gone to the pharmacy for a new one since the other expired, because of something with her insurance. What a convenient turn of events. The one time she actually needed it, she couldn't have it.

Rosie began crying when she saw her mother rushed out like that, confused what about the trail mix that made Beca look like that. The sick, red look on Beca's panicked face startled Rosie to tears, and her brother came over in all the commotion. Teddy grabbed Rosie's hand reassuringly, sitting next to her and Evie in the chair as Emily came over and kneeled, pulling the three of them in a protective hug. She stared at them tentatively, listening to Rosie sob helplessly.

"Mommmmaaaa!" She wailed, being held back by Emily and her brother.

Poor little Rosie was just trying her best to please and impress her momma, and Beca knew that and couldn't be mad, even when her kids were killing her and, (literally and figuratively) trying to make her crazy. Beca felt horrible and wanted to comfort Rosie but she couldn't. She felt Aubrey and Chloe pulling her along to the bus to take her to the hospital thankfully a couple blocks, in the downtown area. What could she say, didn't she call it? Her kids were trying to kill her.

"Beca, can you squeeze my hand and hold on?" Chloe checks to see her function, but Beca's throat was closing, causing her to become less responsive.

Beca laid in her lap on the left row of the bus, wheezing and Chloe could see the light draining from her beautiful blue eyes. Beca was letting everyone know she was afraid, and that was okay with her. The allergic reaction wasn't immediate, but it sure was fast.

"We're gonna do everything we can to get you there safe." Chloe reassures her, though she was sure Beca couldn't hear her.

Chloe sets a hand on Becas back and rubs it to remind her that they we right there, until she felt Beca relax, and she slightly panicked.

Beca has passed out before they made it to the hospital and was rushed away immediately, the doctors injecting her with epinephrine as they were rolling her down the hall. Once Chloe and Aubrey were situated in the emergency and knew any information they would text the girls, but they all waited anxiously, even though they were sure she was going to be alright.

They hated the cliche, but they had made it in the nick of time. Beca hadn't gone too long without air, and they hadn't needed to revive her, as far as they knew. Beca was quadruply blessed, but being back in that emergency room had triggered PTSD, and that vacation was a guarantee one for the books as Beca would work through feelings for months after.


	9. That's what is 'Bechloe' is for

"Is momma gonna be okay?" Teddy worried as he held Emily's hand, walking along the boardwalk alone with her.

Rosie was inconsolable, and though she didn't realize it was her fault, (and they weren't going to say it was because that would just be mean to blame her for her innocent mistake), and Fat Amy, Cynthia Rose, and Jessica and Ashley were in the hotel room, trying to calm her. Amy held her in her lap, rocking her lament howls. She was scared, and they understood that. She had watched as her mother's face swelled to an unrecognizable state, and all the trauma and screaming around her was sure to scar her.

Teddy hadn't felt too well, and while Rosie was throwing up from crying too hard out of fear for her mama, Emily had taken notice of Teddy, watching with a pale expression from the corner. So she took note and offered to take him for a walk, just the two of them. Evie had been screaming too, Flo taking her for a walk to the park that was just down the street.

It didn't matter how late it was at night, they could still go walking and for sure see the way because everything was lit up by street lights and restaurant and bar signs. It felt like no one ever slept there, but it was much quieter than New York, a city that truly never slept. Emily thought about it as they walked, hoping when the kids were bigger that they could go there.

"I don't know buddy." She answered almost too honestly.

"What's gonna happen? Is she gonna go see daddy?" He asked, too calmly.

Emily's heart dropped and she wasn't sure if she had said too much or had not given enough exposition. He was only six after all, and his idea of losing someone was surely different. He didn't understand that his dad's situation was helpless, that by the time he had gotten to the hospital there wasn't anything left to do. Beca had only an allergic reaction that could be reversed with some drugs, and was confident that they had made it there in time. The hospital was only blocks away, but Beca didn't have her epipen. They had acted fast, but was fast ever _fast enough?_

"Your momma has an allergy to peanuts; When she eats it it upsets her body, and it reacts in an angry way."

"Why?" He drawled.

"Because her body gets sick when she eats them, and it fights it by making her really ill. Kind of like when you get a cold, and your nose gets all stuffy."

"A cold can kill me?!" He asked horrified.

' _Nice going, Legacy. Beca's so gonna hate you.'_ She reprimanded herself as if she was Amy.

"No, that's a virus- and a very bad example apparently." She whispered the last part to herself. "An allergy is a reaction your body had to something. For example, I'm allergic to cats, so when I'm around one my body reacts by sneezing and my eyes itch."

Teddy nods in understanding, but still looked a bit confused.

"Why did mommy's allergy almost kill her?"

"Because sometimes some people's allergies are more dangerous to them, like peanuts for mommy, or shellfish for aunt Stacie. My allergies aren't so dangerous and my body can handle them when I take medicine."

"What does mommy's special pen do then?" Teddy wondered.

"Her Epipen slows down the sickness in her body so that she had time to get to the hospital, and the doctors can give her something to stop it to make her feel better."

Teddy nods and then goes quiet for a while, stopping along the way to pick up a few shells he finds buried in the cracks of the boardwalk wood. He picks one tiny up, pressing it to his ear, and smiling large.

"Momma says that you can hear heaven in one of these."

Emily was confused, but she was sure Beca didn't mean it literally. Maybe she meant the ocean 'sounded' like heaven, or maybe he got it confused. Emily had always loved listening in seashells though, and happily would oblige to him, playing along.

"What are they saying?" She played.

"Shhhh…." He pressed a finger to his lips as he crouched down, pulling Emily with him.

Few people were actually out because the sun fell and so the temperature dropped. Teddy wore a little pull over and his slippers, while Emily was sporting sandals and a swimsuit cover. She was a bit chilly when the wind blew, but once it died down, it was a beautiful night for a peaceful sand walk.

"Daddy says he misses us, and to watch out for mommy." Teddy eventually informs her.

"Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah, he misses us, but not to miss him, because he's always here."

"That's very wise, Teddy. And I'm sure he knows you and your momma are very loved down here as well."

"Daddy was very smart, even though mommy called him an 'idiot' all the time. It's true, I heard her."

Emily was fascinated that he recalled that because he had only been three around the time of Jesse's passing. She wasn't sure how much of the seashell talk he was improvising, but she was sure Beca had told him these things too. They made it known to the kids that even though they didn't remember too much, daddy still remembered everything and loved them very much. He would always be there watching them and there was comfort in that.

"Aunt Legacy?"

When on earth had he picked up the nickname 'Legacy', let alone started calling her that?

"Yeah?"

"I wanna make people happy like daddy made me." He states proudly.

"That's great! How do you wanna do that? Are you gonna watch movies too?" She encouraged with small talk.

"I don't know yet." He sighed honestly.

"It's okay, you've got time; What do you say we go inside and make momma some cards for when we see her?" Emily enthused as she pulled the thin cover up tighter around her, wanting to get out of the wind.

"And we can give her the shell that we talked to daddy in?!" He glared up to her.

"We sure can buddy." Emily smiled. "I'm sure daddy would love to talk to her."

* * *

 **-XXX-**

The girls finally heard from Chloe at one that morning, telling them that they were keeping Beca for observation to make sure she wasn't gonna have a secondary reaction and that she was keeping fluids just fine. It had been a roller-coaster of hours since they had left in a hussy, and the girls simultaneously agreed to take a city bus over to the hospital in the morning.

They would then decide if they would cancel the rest of their trip (Beca was stubborn and would insist not, but she was also concerned they wouldn't get their money back, but that wouldn't matter). What mattered was if Beca was feeling up to it, but of course she didn't care how _she felt,_ she cared that the kids were enjoying it. They were still young, but she didn't want them to remember it like this, especially poor little Rosie, her rebel child with a big heart as well, a spitting image of her mother (so help the sass to come in her teenage years, she had already perfected the eye rolling).

(One time Beca had been serving ice cream at the kitchen counter and had told Rosie countless times to put away her clothes, followed by an eye roll from the little girl. Beca had amused in warning, " _Just keep rolling your eyes and I'll gauge them out with the ice cream scooper and put them on top of your brother's sundae!"_ and it had been enough for Rosie to drag her feet up the stairs while her aunts laughed at her). (" _Thanks a lot, Beca!"_ Rosie had grumbled and Beca knew she was in for a treat when they were teenagers if they were already calling her "Beca")

Beca had been hospitalized few times and in the few times was it for something other than giving birth (obviously), and so when she went anxiety was high. She had been to the hospital for Rosie's arm and Evie's appointments, and it wasn't exactly the most sought after vacation site, as she would say.

The only other time Beca had been in the hospital for longer than a day or two was when she was pregnant with Rosie, and Chloe had been taking care of her while Jesse went on a cross country business trip for a client. She had been only eleven weeks into her pregnancy, and she had been told she had hyperemesis gravidarum.

It was an extreme form of morning sickness that made it impossible for her to function, (she claimed over dramatically, but it was seriously bad in their opinions). She spent the first fourth of her day every day puking, and if it wasn't for her Bella family, she could have never made it through her first trimester, and the two after (though it wasn't that bad, Chloe had told her that old wives tales said that she would be sicker with a girl, but Beca had retorted melodramatically, "Yeah, "sicker", not foot in the grave.")

Beca wouldn't have had anyone better (as much as Chloe over worried) to help her through this while Jesse was gone again, after all, Jesse was gone in business when she had found out she was pregnant with Rosie. She had been a hot mess, after all, Teddy was still so young (only ten months old), and she was freaking out. But once she overcame the fear of telling him that they were going to be parents to two under two, she and Chloe (mostly Chloe) had wanted to surprise him when he got back.

Beca hung over the toilet most of the morning the second day he was gone, Chloe having spent the night with her because she was an anxious pile of a woman. She had never been alone with Teddy for more than a night, and it killed her that now she was a sick, pregnant mess too. Chloe was kind to help with Teddy while his mother lay on a heap on the bathroom floor, throwing her guts up (because she hadn't eaten and that was basically all that she felt she had left).

"How are you Bec?" Chloe wandered in after having put Teddy in his swing for a mid morning nap.

Beca snapped her head around, a look that screamed, " _Seriously, you're gonna ask me that?_ " and Chloe realized it was redundant to even ask.

"Remember when we were seniors and Emily was that eager freshmen that drank all that "punch" at hoodnight? It feels like I'm her, and she couldn't hold her liquor to save her life. I wish I would have been nicer to her when she was hungover! Karma's a b-"

"Oh Sweetie," Chloe coos, gathering her hair into a low pony down her back before rubbing it. "I'm gonna make you some of my homemade soup. I promise that eating something with make you feel better and you're probably dehydrated too, so this will be good!"

This could go one of two ways: Chloe could burn the house down, or the soup could actually turn out. Their freshman year Beca hadn't known how good her cooking was actually because everything else in her life seemed to be falling apart, and Chloe often cried over their upcoming graduation (which was a waste of time because she ended up failing most of her classes, and Beca, as much as she loved having Chloe around, was upset that she had failed because she had wanted her to succeed.)

Chloe had made the soup when she was the only one not hit with the great Barden Bellas stomach flu. She spent the entire week tending after a bunch of whiny (Beca claimed she hadn't complained, but she was actually the meanest when she was sick) girls and ended up getting sick the week before the ICCA's. Of course the girls would return the favor without success, and Amy had somehow managed to set fire to the meal, but reflexively everyone blamed Lily (and no one figured out it wasn't her until Fat Amy had drunkenly told them their senior year).

"Here you go, babe!" Chloe cheerfully helps Beca sit up and wraps a blanket around her shoulders before offering to help her drink it too, and Beca swats her hand away.

Chloe was worried that she would have to coax Beca to drink it because of her food aversions and sickness, but Beca was strong willed and did her best to forcefully drink it because Chloe was just crazy enough to force feed it to her if she didn't.

"Mmmph." Beca's eyes flutter pleasantly in the warmth as she gingerly sips the soup.

"Gotta say Chlo, you're a better husband than Jesse." She remarks sarcastically before slowing drinking more off the spoon.

Chloe laughed lightheartedly and sitting beside Beca against the tub. Beca leans over and sets her head on Chloe's shoulders and Chloe embraces her too, feeling the warmth of Beca's blanket drape over her and Beca's tiny body become less rigid.

Just then, as Beca was about to nod off, she heard the sound of her front door unlock, and the footsteps of nine other uninvited guest trudge through her front door. She sighed, knowing it to be the only other friends it could be: The Bella's.

"Beca?! We brought you some nausea lollipops!" She hears a voice exclaim.

"And Boones Farm!" Fat Amy enthuses.

"And Teddy some too!" Stacie calls.

"Stacie, babies can't drink!" Cynthia Rose argues.

"The Boone's farm is for Beca!" Jessica and the group collectively informs her.

"Beca can't drink either! Put that away!" Beca hears Aubrey snap and she chuckles slightly to herself.

Beca then lifts her head from Chloe's shoulder and sits up, scooching towards the bathroom door to unlock it before Fat Amy would trample down her door. She already had a house key printed to match Beca's front door lock so they could come in whenever, and though it could be annoying at times, Beca secretly loved it. That, and the fact that Amy wouldn't lead a stampede through her broken door.

"In here!" Beca croaked weakly as she accepted a wet, warm wash cloth from Chloe to wipe her face, and another cool one around her neck.

"Hey Shawshank!" Fat Amy was the first one through the door.

Teddy began to cry at the sudden and loud ambiance of the busy room, and Stacie cooed, picking him up. She smiled at Beca through the doorway, holding Teddy on her hip and bouncing him. Emily smiled as she budged to the front alongside Aubrey, to check on her "mom".

"How are you doing, mom?"

Emily sat beside Beca on the floor, curling up beside her and leaning over as Beca pulled her in her arms until their heads touched.

"Everyone keep your distance! She's gonna get you sick with all her vomiting!" Aubrey screeched and Beca rolled her eyes.

"It's morning sickness, Aubrey." Beca informed her, groaning in exhaustion.

"I had sea sickness for seven months before I got here." Flo informs them.

"If we should keep our distance from anyone, it should be you, stress-vomiter." Fat Amy directs sarcastically to Aubrey and Aubrey crosses her arms over her chest.

"Oh my gosh! Talk about a hot mess!"

"Aubrey or Beca?"

"Aubrey, of course! Beca looks great!"

"She's looking like a snack in those sweatpants." Stacie adds.

"Um excuse me, but I'm the whole darn Thanksgiving feast, thank you very much." Beca interjects.

"A little Shawshank like you? No way. You're just sweet potatoes, a little side dish." Fat Amy corrects her. "I'm the rolls, the carbs, all the fattening stuff that they're after."

Beca sighs and rolls her eyes as the banter continues over her attempt to get their attention. Arguments, though usually in good fun more like debates, caused a lot of constant talking over each other and it drove Beca nuts sometimes. She was tired and her head was killing her from all the puking, so she decided that they should move out of the bathroom and into the living room, where their echoes wouldn't bounce around the same.

"Okay guys! First things first, give me my baby and get out of my bathroom! All of you!"

"But-"

"Yes, that includes you, Fat Amy!" Beca interrupts her quickly.

Beca finally lifts herself from the floor, outreaching her arms for Teddy and pushing everyone out. She was pale and lightheaded and stumbled around a bit, leaning against the doorframe to steady herself as Chloe held her arm around Beca's waist to keep her up.

They were all trying to gather in her tiny bathroom and it was crowded and hot. Beca decided she would take the risk of puking elsewhere so that they could all just get out of the tiny room and spread out in the living room.

Chloe helps her walk out and sit on the couch, Beca surrounded by her Barden family. Chloe grabs her a puke bucket and a pillow propped behind her before sitting herself down too and taking Teddy from her.

"So, we've come to cheer you up since you've been so sick." Aubrey begins.

"It was Amy's idea." Ashley adds.

"What did you do that for?" Beca grumbles and Chloe nudged her to remind her to be polite.

The girls had come because they heard that Beca had been to the hospital three separate times to receive IV fluids because of intense dehydration from vomiting. Beca hadn't been able to keep much down, and the fact that she could keep soup down was a freakin' miracle. She was in no mood for too much company, no matter how much they loved her. They often popped in unexpected, and as nice as it was to still have everyone within six blocks of each other, Beca prayed for silence, especially since Teddy was refusing to nap during the day now.

Beca recalls the time they had all barged in, her boob hanging out awkwardly as she was about to feed Teddy, and only laughed at the horrified expression on Jesse's face as he protectively lunged in front of her so Beca could cover up. It wasn't like breast feeding was shameful, it was the fact that ten other people were seeing his wife with her top down as if they hadn't shared a house for three years in college.

"I can't believe you're pregnant again…" Aubrey begins conversationally, breaking the silence.

"You two are like rabbits." Fat Amy agrees.

"My lady doctor told me…" Stacie began.

"Girls!" Chloe intervenes, "Shouldn't we be celebrating? We have a new possible Bella on our hands if it's a girl. We need to focus on what's important."

Chloe smiles excitedly and Beca feigns one to her amusement. Chloe wasn't often the voice of reason and Beca found it hilarious how sometimes her priorities were off. She was pretty good about focusing on what was important, but sometimes her emotional attachment to things blurred the lines. But she loved the girls so much, she was willing to fail Russian Lit three times for them. Everything she did was with a pure heart and good intentions, even if a bit unethical at times.

"Way to keep your priorities straight, Chlo." Beca sarcastically remarks, placing her hand on Chloe's shoulder and squeezes it. "Not that I'm healthy, but I'm supposed to produce an heir or legacy. No pressure or anything."

"Everyone knows that you should use protection to avoid these kind of things." Stacie expressed blatantly.

"Well, I for one believe that God wanted her to have another child, or it wouldn't have happened." Emily pitches.

"Birth control is like common sense; It's there to use, but not everyone has it or uses it."

"God gave her common sense. She's just gotta find it."

Beca hadn't realized that this turned into an intervention/roast session on her body and private life. It was like because they weren't there when the baby was conceived o control it, now was the chance and time they believed their two cents was relevant.

"Hey!" Beca consigns. "Can you just get out of my uterus and mind your business! I'm the one having a baby, and even though it wasn't planned, can you stop making me feel bad for it?! Things happen for a reason, it doesn't mean we weren't being safe!"

The mini pill was virtually a joke; She had been on it while breastfeeding and wanted to wean Teddy soon so that she could get on regular birth control after obsessively scrolling through mommy forum pages online and seeing complaints. She and Jesse were planning to have another once Teddy was at least two, so this was quite a scary (she would use the word _surprise,_ lightly) event, but they would be okay.

Beca would formula feed Rosie after she started eating solid foods and then switch to the regular pill. The problem was with Teddy, she had believed that as long as her normal period hadn't started yet, she wouldn't need the birth control because she probably wouldn't get pregnant. It was naive, or maybe just under educated thinking that Beca couldn't believe she didn't know. She felt like an idiot because it turned out that fertility was high after giving birth. Beca wanted so badly to go back and kick herself for believing it, but was nonetheless grateful for this (hard and seemingly long) pregnancy.

As soon as the baby was born, she was going to start formula feeding once they started solids, and switch to the regular pill. She didn't want to completely give up breastfeeding if she could do it, but fed was best and Beca also really didn't want another baby, at least not right away. She had always imagined having (at most) three kids spaced at least two to three years apart. Jesse wanted an army of inevitable children, but three was the max that Beca would be willing to negotiate. (Maybe four because he was very charming, and if they didn't end up all movie obsessed, or anything like Beca.)

"Hey? Where is your _baby daddy_?" Fat Amy interludes conversationally.

"First of all, he's not my 'b _aby daddy'..."_ Beca informs her.

"Yeah, that term only implies if you don't know who the father is." Stacie adds.

"No, she's having his baby. It doesn't matter that they're married, technically Jesse is a baby daddy." Cynthia Rose disagrees.

"That's disrespectful!" Aubrey interjects.

"Thank you, Aubrey." Beca replies, but is interrupted.

"He's the father of Beca's _oath breaking_ children." Aubrey informs them. "Baby daddy or not, she broke the oath and sinned in my book."

"Really Aubrey?"

"I thought we were past that when we won the ICCA's our freshman year."

"Yeah, and what about Amy and Bumper?"

"Mind your business, black beauty."

"Guys, Jesse is fine! He's on a business trip." Chloe jumps in.

Beca groaned, thrusting her head back against the couch cushions, unable to believe that this was her life, her time she could be using to catch some sleep spent arguing about random and silly little things. She had a bunch of babysitters at the moment, but she didn't care. She wanted them to leave so she could puke in peace, listening to Chloe in the kitchen, singing to Teddy as he fussed in his swing.

"Well, thank you for coming; If I thought that having _two_ children meant less sleep, then clearly I didn't know the ten of you as well as I thought I did." Beca mutters sarcastically.

She determined to make her way towards the stairs of their tiny, cape cod home, a perfect starter home for hers and Jesse's little inevitable family (given that they don't have _too_ many babies). Chloe followed after her, guarding her with her hands on Beca's back to protect her in case she fell down the stairs.

Beca had been so weak that it was more like crawling, but she was determined to sleep in her own bed for the first time in a week. Her sickness had taken completely over and consumed her tiny and frail frame with the whirlwind of nausea and vomiting. Drinking water, eating, even holding her own son was a chore, and Jesse and Chloe made sure she knew that she was strong and reminded her that she was that stubborn, hard headed girl that could get through this, with them by her side.

"Are you warm enough? Do you need the garbage closer? Can you reach the remote alright, or do you need me to move it closer so you don't get dizzy?"

Chloe rambled nervously as she pulled up the covers on Beca's bed, more than willing to stay with her just to tend to her every need and help her when she seemed to need it. Beca was too stubborn to ask for help, so Chloe would watch eagerly, waiting for a moment when she seemed to show any sign for help.

"Geez Chloe, I'm fine. Did you want to hold my hand when I go to the bathroom too?" Beca smirks sarcastically.

"If you need me to, but…"

"I'm joking, Chlo." Beca smiles gently, and Chloe returns it. "I'm gonna take a nap, then I'll be down to clean the bathroom because let's be real, it's a barnyard explosion in there."

Beca knew that she barely had the energy to lift a glass of water to her mouth, so the bathroom wouldn't be properly cleaned until she was well into her second trimester. But she hoped that getting up and doing something would help get her blood flowing. Not that she could even fathom ever leaving this bed.

"I'd bet the Bella's would do it."

"No, don't worry about it. Why don't you go hang with them? I've got this."

Beca expected Chloe to happily trail back down the hall and down the stairs to where the rest of her blood sisters were happily chatting amongst themselves, but was surprised (or maybe not so much since it was Chloe) when Chloe instead, shuffled under the covers and scooted close to Beca, laying her head in the brunette's shoulders. The Bellas promise to each other, for each other, was forever, and a little bit of sickness wasn't going to keep Chloe away from it.

"No, rest your eyes, Beca. They'll be fine and so will Teddy. I'm gonna stay right here in case you need something."

Chloe knew that Beca was too stubborn to ask for help or to admit she needed something, but she wanted to be there for her, so she wasn't going anywhere. This was her family.

Beca fell limp against her and Chloe knew that she had fallen asleep anyways, despite her plea for Chloe to join the group. Chloe was always gonna be there for Beca, and it brought her comfort knowing she had a whole army of a strong women behind her. Though she was worried that when she woke up, Aubrey would have already taught Teddy to falsetto and run an acapella group. But deep down she knew she was in good hands, and would break down her stubborn walls and allow Chloe to handle it.


	10. Moving Day and New Beginnings

***Following Jesse's Funeral***

Beca couldn't bear the thought of entering their old home alone (in which was already sold) to finish cleaning out their bedroom closet. His funeral had been the day before and afterwards they all helped Beca and her children settle into the old Bella's home that was scheduled for demolition since the legacy of the Bella's had fallen after Emily had graduated. It had been a horrible day, where reality had set it as they lowered him into the ground and Beca had watched with a pain in her chest she couldn't describe.

It was like there was a hole, a piece of herself had gone into the ground with him, yet her spirit had lifted knowing that it wasn't the last time he was with her, at least not physically. She had three little earth versions of him, and he'd live on through his children. They weren't him, but they had traits of him that were good, (and some of his habits that annoyed the heck out of Beca that she thought she wouldn't miss, but she did.). Teddy already seemed that he showed interest in movies, and would sit engulfed into the tv if Beca hadn't remembered to nudge him out of the chair and outside for a couple hours.

Rosie would later grow up to have his social skills, a kind heart that reaches out to people no matter how old or small, she saw no differences. She would pursue someone surely if she wanted to have a conversation, and even once followed a little girl she had met thirty seconds earlier, up an escalator in a department story to play 'hide and seek' in the store, much to Beca's horror, (and Beca had shortly thereafter bought a backpack with a leash so that her restless and kind spirit couldn't wander with strangers ever again).

"Becs? Are you ready?"

Chloe had snuck up behind her with a few large rubbermaid bins that they had planned to use to clean out Beca and Jesse's closet. Beca jumped from her deep thoughts and pulled her hand from the door handle of their old home, feeling suddenly very clammy and anxious. Chloe was patient, supportive, kind, a saint really. She had set something up so that the Bella's could watch the kids while she and Chloe went to the house. Chloe was more than happy to help Beca, and offered moral support as well.

Beca felt overwhelmed with the idea of throwing things out, and hated even more the idea of them all going through her things, so she and Chloe would go to the old house and just the two of them would go through things and decide what to donate and what to keep, and Chloe listened intently as Beca cried and tried to find a reason to keep almost everything she pulled out, but also helped be a voice of reason when Beca had tried to keep a pair of shoe laces Jesse had bought that he had never gotten the chance to put in his favorite work shoes.

Beca felt anxious as she would lock the front door soon and the realtor would hand over the spare keys to the new owners in just a few days, (but not without sneaking over to the empty house in the middle of the night first, just to smell their family room one more time)

"I didn't realize how hard this actually would be; My stomach is in knots." Beca's shaky voice answered and she felt Chloe's hand fall on her shoulder.

"It's okay. It's overwhelming and you don't have to pretend it's not. This might feel like goodbye and it may be painful, but we'll get through it. This just means a new chapter for you, new memories."

"This house has so many memories; I brought my Rosie and Teddy through that door when we came home from the hospital. Teddy fell down those stairs and Jesse and I had our first big fight over who was supposed to be watching him. Rosie and Teddy will never get to see the concern in their daddy's eyes when they learn to ride a bike and fall over, or when they get their hearts broken as a teenager. He will never see their firsts, the ones that I thought we would have in this house."

Beca felt her face flush as tears rolled down her already red and sore eyes, and it kind of burned her chapped cheeks, the ones she had been rubbing tears from for days. Though Chloe seemingly always knew what to say, this was the one thing she couldn't fix. This chapter of her life was closed and she couldn't get it back. She had to keep moving forward.

"Think of all the amazing things you'll see your children do, and though you won't be sharing those things with Jesse, you can always be, rest assured, that he would be proud and will be right there with you, spiritually. And we're all here too, and I think he would be comforted knowing that you have us watching you. You have memories to hold on to , but I don't think he'd want you to miss out on making new ones too!"

"Everything in this house feels like it holds a memory, so it's gonna be hard to let go."

Chloe sets down her bins and digs through her purse, pulling out an old, disposable camera she had picked up from the store before she came. Beca had never been super sentimental, (or at least didn't show it), but knew that she would need something to hold on to. That there would be hard days to come, days where she wished she could smell the foyer in that house one more time, or touch the soft carpet of their living room, and though she wouldn't be able to physically do it, she could still in her heart imagine it.

"Take pictures; Of the foyer where Teddy used to storm in with his muddy rain boots that Jesse let him splash in, or of the room where Rosie had her first blowout the day you brought her home. Take pictures and get them developed, so that on days you wish you could be there, it's almost like you are. Moving on doesn't mean letting go of the good times completely, even if you can't feel them, you can feel something from these."

Beca breaks down completely, feeling herself go limp and she wraps her arms around Chloe, and her snarly hair being brushed behind her ears. She wished there were words of gratitude she could put together, but there was nothing to describe how vulnerable she was and how much she appreciated them.

"I love you, weirdo. Did you know that?" She muffled into Chloe's shoulder.

"Also, disposable cameras are so early 2000's. But, thank you." Beca adds, giggling slightly.

Chloe didn't answer because she knew, but hugged Beca tighter.

"We should get over to the big house and help the girls finish moving." Beca finally breaks the silence.

"Take your time, the big house can wait. We have the rest of our lives to make memories there, but this is just another moment passing." Chloe reassures her and Beca smiles.

Chloe rummages through her purse, handing Beca the keys to the house that they would have to turn over to the realtor on their way out, and Beca squeezes it in her hand, unknowing that the slight scent of metal would linger on her hands into the evening. She was thankful that their realtor, Maisie, gave them this last moment before turning over part of her old life to start a new.

"Thank you, Maisie." Beca smiles weakly, and quickly climbs into the minivan before the tears start to pour.

Chloe let a few beats pass before starting the car and Beca instantly started sobbing when she put the car into reverse. She watched as the mailbox marked "Swanson" passed and wondered if the new family or couple would cover it with theirs. Jesse had specially made a sign above their garage that said the same thing, and his weak hand scrawl was written over the piece of wood.

He was a craft man nonetheless, and she would never admit it, but loved his work, even though it cluttered the garage. What she would give to have that little workshop back that she took for granted.

"I have one more thing for you. Open your hand." Chloe interrupts her thoughts, shutting off the engine in the driveway of the big house.

"A key?" Beca astonished.

"It's a replica of the old home one; That way you can put it on your keychain and it's like it's always there. This may be your new house, but that place will always be your home."

Beca liked to imagine Teddy and Rosie running through the halls of the home she and Jesse had bought together. She liked to laugh at the fact that when they bought it, it was a fixer-upper and she hated the idea of putting work into it but Jesse convinced her that it would get done and it was a great project. She wanted nothing to do with it at first but it ended up being the best adventure they had together in their first year of marriage.

" _Jesse, you spilled paint all over the wood!" Beca had fret, "I told you to lay the plastic down all over, not just on the spot you were painting!"_

 _Her blood boiled at the thought that they wouldn't get it out, and thought it mostly had come up, they had compromised and had laid a rug down until she had gotten pregnant with Teddy, then they had put full carpet in because she had fret that he would hit his head on the hard flooring. Jesse had thought it was a terrible idea because babies and kids in general had made messes and it would be a pain to replace. But once Teddy had been born the fears dimminshed and new memories were made and the kids were happy._

 _Or the time he ended up in the ER after nearly dissecting his hand in his power saw trying to build a mini rocker for Teddy's play room. She had heard his wail of agony in the garage from the kitchen, and nearly spilled her pot of boiling ramen on her bare feet rushing to find him. He had a hankie over the tips of his fingers trying to stop the bleeding, and cut most of the tips of his fingers nearly off._

 _He was further banned by Beca from using it when she wasn't home to find him. He could've passed out from blood loss or so much worse she feared. She was angry he had been so careless, but he claimed he had lost control on high setting and slipped. Beca hadn't cared either way and Jesse had forgone the project. How Beca wishes she hadn't been so firm with him, even though she was just worried. She still had the pieces of the chair that had been cut, and she would want to find someone to finish assembling it for her._

 _She vaguely remembers the night Teddy had gotten into the cabinet under the sink and spilled a can of old paint all over himself after she had forgotten to replace the child safety lock on the handles. She remembers bringing Rosie home from the hospital and she had her first diaper blowout on the carpet of her nursery. Beca haphazardly scrubbed the carpet, cursing Jesse for not changing her on the table she had specifically insisted they'd need, even though she was certain Rosie was their last baby. But soon that was just another memory. How she wished she hadn't gotten mad over superficial things that could be easily resolved._

 _There had even been a point when they had discussed a third kid while Beca rocked Rosie to sleep in her sliding rocker. Beca had been up all night for several nights now and she was hysterically crying, begging for this sleep regression to be a phase, but Rosie had always been a poor sleeper. Jesse couldn't have picked a worse moment to even joke about another, but he had done it and she was infuriated._

 _If only she had known that Jesse would be gone a week later. That her life would be turned upside down and that last baby she insisted she didn't want was already conceived and would turn out to be the last small piece of Jesse she needed. Obviously Evie was her own person, but her beautiful soul resembled pieces of Jesse that reassured her that she had been sent to watch over Beca, even through the worst of times and the hardest of pregnancies. This baby, (and the others of course) had taught her grace and patience, and had softened her more than she'd like to admit._

 _She remembered the day she took the test and swore she felt him there with her, promising that it was gonna be okay. She sobbed as she watched the urine creep up the stick and the pink lines appear, because after they had buried him she felt that he was gone, but now she had a piece of him still within her. Not in a corny, "in my heart" kind of way, but the presence felt physical. Of course she had Rosie and Teddy, but it was weird that after she had felt ready to try and move forward, he was pulling her back._

 _She felt herself spiraling, unable to grasp what she had received. Once again he had been right, this baby was what she needed at the same time she felt like it was a step back. She had thought she'd seen the last of his antics before he had died, but yet again God knew what was best for them because she was going to once again be pregnant with an (unplanned but not unwanted) baby. He was right, he wasn't there to say it, but it had been inevitable._

 _She wanted to call Chloe right away that morning, but she wasn't able to bring herself to do it. It was off the rails, having a baby but not being able to share the news with him, but somehow she knew he knew. And she worried once she told Chloe (though she knew it was ridiculous) she would be less eager to help. She couldn't wrap her head around everything but it would be okay. It felt like a freakin' sitcom, that was for sure! She was shaking but quickly she snorted, shaking her head and cursing him, that even in this time, his poor (but somehow always accurate) timing was mocking her from the grave._

"I know that home holds a lot of memories for you, but I can't wait to see what we'll create as a family at the big house." Chloe interrupted her thoughts, happily pulling into the driveway.


	11. The USO Tour pt 1

***The USO Tour***

"Are you sure you're okay to go through with this Beca?" Chloe whispers loudly.

Chloe leaned over the middle airplane seat, stretching over lily to tap the brunette who had already slid her headphones on, mid safety lecture from the flight attendants.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Beca implied, removing the headphones to hear her, though she hadn't started the music yet.

Beca pretended not to know what she was talking about, afraid that the Bella's would hear them and pick up on what they were talking about. They were of course safe with Lily, she wouldn't make a peep (quite literally) but Beca still worried and Chloe still persisted. But still, Beca couldn't let the girl's down in their chance of winning and performing for DJ Khaled.

First pregnancy, first baby, but last chance to perform with the Bella's, and she was going no matter what. She wanted to soak up every new moment in her life with her pregnancy of course, but it was deemed safe to travel by her doctor and she wanted every last moment of this trip to perform with the Bella's too.

They'd have their whole lives to see each other and hang and meet this baby (which was huge because Beca was the first to get married and have a baby) little did Beca know them disaster waiting, and that this wasn't the last time they'd all be together for days in a row, or their last vacation. Unfortunately, it had to happen under horrible circumstances, but little did she know that this baby (who was her sweet little boy, Teddy, but she didn't know him or his siblings yet) was going to be so loved and cared for.

Sadly for them, Stacie was already out of the competition because she had important family issues to sort out, so Beca felt this was an exciting and happy obligation to fill the missing spot. Not that Emily couldn't have done it, but Beca really wanted to be there so bad, it sounded desperate (but she didn't want Chloe to know that because she could never live it down) (" _The same alt girl who hated a capella and never had girlfriends?" "You looove us Beca, admit it. Look at you, you're blushing." Chloe had teased when Beca insisted on leading auditions the following year after winning the 2012 ICCA's)._

"Beca," Chloe pleaded for her to listen, "The B-A-B-Y." She whisper-spelled as if the other's couldn't and Beca snickered.

"You couldn't leave the driveway without Jesse walking you outside with a garbage can so that you wouldn't puke in the driveway. We had to lie and tell the Bella's we were in traffic even though you and I both know I had to pull over several times so that you could throw up. And did you already forget about..."

"Chlo, I'm fine. Relax." She reassuringly reached over and took Chloe's hand, squeezing it convincingly. "It was probably mainly motion sickness from being in the car."

"Alright, it's just 'Motion sickness' then?!" She mocked, "Beca, you couldn't sit up in bed for the longest time without throwing up! And, we're on a plane! Are you gonna puke 'Aubrey style' all over the rows in front of you when it starts taking off?!"

"Chloe, you're spiraling again." Beca warned gently, feigning a smile to hopefully help her relax and not start a scene.

"Besides, that was weeks ago! I'm okay, I promise. And I'll let you know if I'm not."

Had Chloe forgotten the scene she and Aubrey had caused back in 2012 when Aubrey had puked all over the rehearsal room and the pitch pipe had rolled into the vomit?!

"Lily," Chloe tapped on the quiet girl's shoulder, "Switch seats with Beca please; I want to be next to her and she could really use the end seat."

Though Beca's severity of her morning sickness was starting to taper off, she still prefered to be close to the aisle so that if she had to, she could dart to the restroom. Despite Jesse's plea to stay home, she blatantly dismissed him, claiming that it had resolved to quite literally only morning sickness now (compared to when she was sick all day very early on and couldn't even keep water down).

" _My OB-GYN said I'm fine to travel, Jess. And until you have a medical license in a frame above your desk at home, I don't wanna hear it." Beca sneered at him before giving him a kiss goodbye as he helped her climb into the passenger side._

"I'm just concerned for you guys." Chloe continued as they shuffled to switch their seats, Aubrey glaring at them from the row over the entire time.

"Thank you Chlo; I appreciate it and love you." Beca smiled, knowing she was referring to the baby when Chloe said, "You guys." and it honestly warmed her heart.

Beca leaned her head on Chloe's shoulder as the plane started moving and closed her eyes tightly, praying that the anti-nausea medicine would kick in and work. She hadn't anticipated even going to the USO's, she had figured she would be too pregnant to even go, but they were moved up by several months due to scheduling conflict (she didn't know specifically what the issue was) and Aubrey had dropped it on them the month before.

So here she was, fifteen and a half weeks pregnant, flying out of the country to perform for the troops. Boy, she couldn't wait to tell this little one about that. He or she hadn't been born yet and already they had traveled the world and met Dj Khaled, had been kidnapped (which she didn't know would happen yet) and this was only in the first fifteen weeks of their lives.

 **-XXX-**

"You guys, we just embarrassed ourselves in front of Dj Khaled."

Emily had stormed in, wearing something far nicer than what was necessary given the occasion. Some of the girls were lying in the same bed in their pajamas and Flo was on the floor getting her hair braided by Cynthia Rose. They had decided then and there that all hopes of performing with DJ Khaled were gone, and their luck had only plummeted and been jinxed by losing the riff off.

"All because Beca decided to copy Aubrey's 2012 puke-aid." Cynthia Rose added.

"Yeah, what the he-" Fat Amy began.

"You guys, she couldn't help it." Chloe pitched in, stopping the attack they had going on Beca.

"Why not? She should've ran off stage first." Cynthia Rose proposed.

"It would have been more embarrassing to the country if she had left in the middle of taps." Aubrey informed them all matter of factly.

Beca leaned in the doorway of the bathroom in Chloe's thick, pink, vanilla scented robe wrapped around her body (Thankfully big enough to hide the beginning of what would eventually be a protruding belly of hers that had just began to form) and a thin hotel towel cradling the hair on her head, water pooling at her ankles. She struggled to grasp everything that had happened and felt horrible both physically and emotionally. She hadn't anticipated any of this and wished and cursed herself for not listening to Jesse's sound advice out of her own stubbornness.

She took a shaky breath and wanted to cry as hormones ravaged through her entire body and exhaustion took over. She didn't want them to see her cry, she had felt awful enough and was ready for this nightmare of a trip to be over. She didn't know if she should defend herself and just tell them what was going on, or if her surprise would follow through.

She didn't want to make this trip about her or take away their excitement and focus of performing. When it was over and they went out to celebrate she wanted something to celebrate along with their win while they were all riding high. It was gonna happen, she was gonna make sure it did. She wanted these to be memories that lasted forever without taking away from the trip itself.

"I'm sorry you guys. This wasn't how this trip was imagined and I didn't mean ruin it for you guys." Beca's voice wavered the entire time, trying not to cry.

Chloe hopped off the bed and went to her, putting an arm around her shoulder and rubbing her back before she and Emily helped her back to the bed to lie down against the headrest. She was pale and shaky, feeling too weak to get dressed, not that the girls weren't tight anyways.

"Don't be Beca- We were unfairly projecting and we're the ones to be sorry." Aubrey surprisingly reassured her.

"We couldn't have predicted that any of this would happen." Emily pitched and the others nodded.

"What happened up there? Bad sushi?"

"I used to make sushi at sushi morgue." Lily whispered.

"I'm sorry, a what?! Is that the name of the company?" Emily worried.

"Shawshank here, is trying to knock Aubrey down as the reigning puke champion." Fat Amy sneers.

Chloe hugged Beca and smiled reassuring her that it was not her fault and that if she wanted to tell the girls she could, but she didn't have to. It would be their dirty little secret and she felt bad enough, but she still didn't want to take away from their trip, so she shook her head at Chloe, knowing exactly what she was suggesting.

"What's our plan, guys?" Chloe deteers them from Beca being the subject.

"Binge drinking and karaoke!" Fat Amy suggested.

"NO!" They all responded in unison.

"And Gambling!" Cynthia Rose concurred.

"Still no." Beca stated with everyone else's head nods as unanimous agreement.

"We find Khaled and make things right for ourselves!" Emily enthusiastically proposed.

Aubrey clasped her hands together excitedly and above the other girls hesitant murmurs declared that it was what they were going to do. They were going to find Khaled and show him that they did have what it took to be stars whether he wanted to believe it or not.

"All right ladies, let's get tarted up!" Amy roared.

They all filed out and congregated into their separate rooms, except for Emily, who took notice of Beca and Chloe, who hadn't made an effort to get up.

"Em, what's the matter baby?" Chloe notices and Emily shuts the door behind the girls, trekking back into the room.

"Mom?" Emily plopped down beside her, sandwiching Beca between her and Chloe.

"What's up, Legacy?" Beca wearily opened her eyes, having begun to fall asleep amongst the noise.

"You've been acting weird." Em states bluntly, concern and slight confusion mixed in her voice.

"Thanks Legacy." She rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"That's heartwarming."

"No, no! No offense, it's just, you're not you! You've been sleeping a lot- well, you always do, but you tire quickly and you're grumpy, then you're sad, then you're way too overly enthusiastic, not that that's a bad thing,- but you're also more guarded than usual."

"Life has its ups and downs. These are normal emotions, Em."

"No, these seem like hormone surges; Worse than just "ups and downs" these are like PMS symptoms on crack." Em exaggerates.

Beca stifled a snicker because she knew Emily was concerned, and for a moment she contemplated telling her to appease her nerves, but she really wanted to tell all the Bellas together. Or would it be better to do it personally?

"You either eat everything in sight or puke everything up at the sight of food. It seems to me that-"

"I'm fine, I promise." Beca grabs Emily's hand to silence the rambling.

Emily sighs and takes the hint, hugging Beca and smiling at Chloe before picking herself off the bed.

"Can I get you anything? Some bagels from the lobby? Some of that fancy water?"

"Im okay, Em. Thank you." Beca smiles.

Emily opens the door and begins to shuffle out, but not before turning around one last time.

"I'm here for you, whatever you need. I just hope you know that when you get to a better place that you're comfortable with, the Bella's are not gonna think you're selfish and will be just as excited for you as I am. And maybe-"

Em paused and wrung her fingers together.

"I'll get to be the God mom." She added with a wink before closing the door and latching it behind her.

Chloe's jaw dropped and Beca was a bit thrown off by the youngest brunette's confession, but was amused by the lighthearted humor thrown in. How long had she had that figured out? How! She was by far the ditzy-est Bella! Or maybe they all just underestimated her.

And there was no way she was gonna be the contender for a Godparent by a long shot. Well, shoot! She'd have to compete against the other Bella's, but she was adorable and Beca looked forward to the competitions and kiss-butting that would be for months to come.

"I get to be the Godparent, right?" Chloe finally spoke and Beca shook her head.

Was that the only thing Chloe gathered from that entire conversation? She didn't wonder how Emily knew let alone cared enough to ask? We're the other oblivious or just too shy to ask?

"You're the only one I'd ever consider, Chlo. You know, if the other girls just suddenly disappeared and you were the only Bella left." Beca snickered and Chloe relaxed, socking Beca jokingly in the arm for the sarcastic comment.


End file.
